


Love On The Rocks

by flowerfan



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-02-27 19:31:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 21,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2703848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerfan/pseuds/flowerfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Klaineadvent drabble challenge 2014.</p><p>A look at the boys' struggle to fix what has become broken. AU after Season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ache

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: ache
> 
> Someone asked me if this is related to Season 6 sp0ilers - no, and I'm personally about 95% unsp0iled, and trying hard to keep it that way.

"Shit," Kurt heard as he came into the loft, sliding the door behind him and taking off his coat.

"Problem?"

"No, it's fine. Dinner's almost ready, it's all good."

"Then what are you doing there?" Kurt hadn't meant for his question to sound so smug, but he was hungry, and Blaine looked ridiculous, lying on his stomach under the kitchen table, his white Henley surely getting dirty.

Blaine looked up, dejected. "I was going to put walnuts in the salad, and cranberries, like that salad you had at lunch last week? We didn't have a open container, and when I went to open the new one..." He indicated the walnuts liberally sprinkled below the table. When Kurt just stared blankly at the mess, Blaine shook his head and went back to gathering up the nuts. "Forget it. Of course you had to come home early tonight," Blaine muttered.

"Are you serious? Last night you complained that I was late."

Blaine pulled himself on to a chair with a grimace and gazed at Kurt, his eyes wide and sad. "I wasn't complaining. I just wanted tonight to be different. I wanted us to have a nice dinner together." _For a change,_ was the unspoken end to that sentence, as they both knew.

Blaine sighed. "And I didn't yell at you last night, I texted you so I could figure out if I should wait for you to eat or not. Seems considerate to me, actually."

Kurt almost snapped back, but was distracted when Blaine stood up to get the dishes out of the cabinet and almost toppled over, grabbing his thigh and squeezing his eyes shut in obvious pain.

"Blaine? What's wrong?"

"Pulled a muscle at dance rehearsal," he replied, still clutching his thigh.

"So why are you cooking dinner?" Kurt asked, trying to reach around Blaine to get the dishes.

"So now I shouldn't stick to the schedule? Thursday's my night to cook, it's right there on the fridge, as you so often remind me."

"What the hell's going on, Blaine? It's a dinner schedule, not a prison sentence." Kurt turned to face Blaine and saw tears gathering in his eyes. "Hey," he started, then tried again, more softly. "Hey, it's okay."

Blaine just shook his head and reached for the glasses.

"No, really," Kurt said quietly, "sit down, let me do that." He caught Blaine's eye and Blaine relented, shuffling over to the sofa and pulling his leg up next to him with a groan. Kurt didn't know how they had gotten here, where every conversation was a battle. He didn't like it, and he knew Blaine didn't either, but they couldn't seem to dig themselves out of it this time.

Kurt finished setting the table, and then filled a plastic bag with ice. "The chicken looks like it needs another few minutes. Want me to ice that for you?" He sat down next to Blaine and reached over, meaning to rub his sore muscle. But Blaine stopped him with a look, then took the bag of ice from Kurt and gingerly placed it on his thigh.

They sat in silence, Kurt noticing a few walnuts still hiding under the edge of the stove. "What happened to us?" he said softly, not daring to look at Blaine.

"I don't know. But it really hurts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Love On The Rocks" is a Sara Bareilles song. It fits pretty well. Go listen to it if you don't know it (she is awesome....).


	2. Balance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt for this chapter: Balance
> 
> A look at the boys' struggle to fix what has become broken. AU after Season 5.
> 
> Someone asked me if this is related to Season 6 sp0ilers - no, and I'm personally about 95% unsp0iled, and trying hard to keep it that way.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?" Kurt looked up from where he was doing his homework at the kitchen table. He was almost done for the night, and he really didn't want to stop now to get into another argument with Blaine.

"Your rehearsal Saturday got cancelled, right?" 

"Yeah." Kurt waited, wondering where this was going. Things between them had been rocky lately, to say the least. But Blaine didn't look mad, or hurt, expressions Kurt was all too used to seeing these days. In fact, he looked nervous, and, possibly, even hopeful.

"Do you think you could clear the day, not have anything to do at all?"

"I don't have anything else planned," Kurt said, tentatively considering that this might not actually be the start of another argument. "But you have piano lessons."

"I can't give lessons if I'm sick. It's not fair to my students."

"You don't seem sick."

"I could be," Blaine said, with a hint of a smile.

Kurt felt something warm inside him. "Are you suggesting we take the day and play hooky?"

Blaine sat down in the chair next to Kurt, turning it so he was looking right at him, his hands clasped tightly together on his lap. "I was hoping we could do exactly that. A day for just us, no phones, no rehearsals, nothing to get in our way."

"And what would we do with all that time?"

"I've got some ideas... It could be a surprise. If you want."

Kurt used to love surprises, especially Blaine's. But the last one hadn't worked so well. Blaine had invited over a group from school that Kurt really didn't get along with, on a night he not only had a ton of work to do but also a pounding headache.

"I'd like that." Kurt saw Blaine's hesitation, and went on. "I promise to be in the right mindset for it. And maybe you can give me some hints ahead of time, so I can be prepared."

"Yeah?" A smile spread across Blaine's face, and then he practically bounced in his chair. "Okay, you get back to your homework, and leave the rest to me. I'll have your hints ready on Friday."

As Blaine stood up, Kurt grabbed his wrist and caught his eye. "Thank you," he said softly.

Blaine nodded, his eyes wide. "Anytime."

\-----

Their outing on Saturday went better than either of them could have anticipated. It was bright and sunny, the air brisk but not too cold, perfect, in Kurt's opinion, for layering. They took the train out to a small oceanside town and spent the day perusing the gift shops, picking through the antique stores, and enjoying a delicious picnic lunch outside by the water.

They slipped back into their roles as Kurt-and-Blaine as if nothing had ever been wrong, as if they were as happy together as they ever were. Blaine was bursting with delight at everything, Kurt was fondly amused, and they swung their clasped hands between them as they walked down the street.

On the train on the way home, Blaine pulled out a bag of candy and offered a chocolate covered pretzel to Kurt. "You always loved these," Kurt commented, breaking off half of the pretzel stick and handing it back to Blaine.

"It's the perfect balance of salty and sweet," Blaine agreed.

"Just like us?" Kurt asked, wishing instantly he could take his words back, as he saw Blaine hesitate.

"Just like us," Blaine said softly, shifting so that he could rest his head on Kurt's shoulder. "We can find our balance again, Kurt. I know we can." He paused, his body suddenly stiff against Kurt's side. "If you want to."

Kurt's heart clenched. "Do you really think we can? Even if I want to, even if we both want to, is that enough?"

Blaine lifted his head and gazed at Kurt, his face serious. "I want to try to fix this. Starting right now." He took a deep breath, then went on. "And maybe this is really the last time we do this. As good as we can be together, clearly we can be awful, too. But I'm not ready to give up yet." He took Kurt's hands in his and studied them for a minute, rubbing a finger against the ring Kurt still wore, despite the many times over the past few months he had thought about taking it off. "What do you say?"

He wasn't sure, but he wasn't ready to give up either. Kurt leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Blaine's lips. "Count me in." 

Blaine smiled, and Kurt saw that little glimmer of hope in his face again. Kurt raised his arm in invitation and Blaine cuddled up next to him. He had to struggle to remember the last time he had been so happy to have Blaine next to him, and Blaine had seemed so pleased to be there. Breathing deeply, Kurt closed his eyes and rested his cheek against Blaine's head. Maybe this might work out, after all.


	3. Cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: Cloud.

Blaine had a hard time focusing on his composition homework on Sunday. He kept thinking about their day out of the city, relaxing in the sunshine with Kurt, and curling up on his shoulder on the train ride home. It gave him a happy, floaty feeling, and he just wanted to bask in it.

Finally he gave up and headed out to the market. Kurt had rehearsal for most of the day but would be home in time for dinner, and even though Sundays weren't on their cooking schedule, Blaine wanted to do something special. That was all they needed to do, he thought to himself, to get themselves out of this slump. Just remember how much they loved each other, and find more ways to show it.

He stood on line at the bakery to get some fresh, crusty bread, chatting animatedly with a little girl that seemed far less happy to be running errands than he was, and got a bouquet of bright Gerbera daisies for their table. Their dinner in the oven, he also slid in a pair of apples to bake, reveling in the smell of cinnamon that soon permeated the loft.

But five o'clock came and went, with no sign of Kurt. Blaine waited until he was good and truly late to text him, not wanting to nag, but it didn't matter - Kurt didn't text back. Eventually he had a few bites of the pork chops and put the rest away in the refrigerator. Even the baked apples didn't seem very appetizing anymore.

He showered and got into bed, not wanting to think very hard about the evening and what it meant that Kurt wasn't home. Luckily Sam was online and so he wasted some time on his friend's newest Marvel gossip, watching trailers and trading guesses as to what was going to happen next with their favorite superheroes. 

By the time Kurt stumbled inside Blaine was almost asleep, lying in the dark with his phone next to his head. His stomach hurt as he found himself in the same position he had been in so often, lately - did he just go with the flow, or confront him? Pretend it didn't bother him, or show Kurt that he cared?

He went into the kitchen to find Kurt leaning heavily against the countertop, attacking a baked apple with a spoon. "B-Blaine! Hi! These are... So good..." Kurt slurred, trying to cut the apple with the side of the spoon.

"You missed dinner," Blaine said, trying to keep his voice even. "You said you'd be home."

Kurt pouted, his happy demeanor disappearing. "I had rehearsal."

"Which ended at four-thirty."

Kurt gave him his patented "what are you, my father" look, but he was too drunk to really carry it off. "Fine. We went out later. Me and Brian. Brian invited me. To go out."

Blaine often wondered whether Brian's parents realized that their child has the same name as the lothario on _Queer as Folk_ who made a game out of sleeping with as many men as possible and scoffed at the idea of love. He had mentioned the apt comparison to Kurt once, but Kurt hadn't been impressed.

"Brian always invites you. You didn't have to say yes." Blaine could hear his voice shaking, but he couldn't stop himself. "I thought it was going to be different now."

Kurt gave Blaine a confused look. "Different?"

"Guess things were a lot clearer yesterday." 

Suddenly Kurt blanched and ran for the bathroom. Blaine heard him emptying his stomach - hopefully into the toilet - and then the water running. After a while when Kurt still hadn't emerged he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Kurt? You okay? Want me to come in?"

"No, I don't need your help," Kurt scoffed, annoyed. "Just go to bed, Blaine." 

But he didn't want to. He couldn't leave it here. Not when things had seemed so hopeful yesterday. "Kurt, can't we --"

"No, we can't," Kurt interrupted. "You can't, I can't," he said in a sing-song voice. "I'm drunk, I can't think straight. Just leave me alone."

"Kurt," Blaine began, not even knowing what he was going to say next. He took a breath and tried again. "Kurt, it's all right. Just come to bed."

Something thudded dully into the door. Blaine hoped that it was Kurt's fist, and not his head. 

Finally Kurt replied. "It's not all right." There was a long pause, and Blaine reached for the door knob. He just wanted to see Kurt's face, to lean in against him where it was safe and warm. To get back to that feeling he had rediscovered just yesterday. But he froze when he heard Kurt's next words. "Blaine?" Kurt's voice was thin and sorrowful. "I don't think I can do this."


	4. Dessert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaine advent prompt: dessert

The next morning Blaine got up early and was out the door before Kurt's alarm went off. He didn't want to deal with hung over Kurt, and didn't want to know if Kurt had meant what he said the night before. If he even remembered it. _I don't think I can do this,_ Kurt had said, and Blaine's heart had shattered.

He went to the gym and punched the bag until he couldn't feel his hands anymore, then showered and made his way to school. Monday mornings Blaine had playwriting and then musical theater scene, two of his favorite classes, so he tried to focus. He had been going to class for months like this, pushing all thoughts of Kurt out of his mind for fifty minutes at a time so he could get something out of his education. Today didn't have to be any different. Except that he really had thought that it would be, that this Monday they'd be taking the subway to school together like they used to, smiling at each other in the hall, making a coffee run in the afternoon. 

Just keep swimming, he thought to himself. You can do this, just keep going.

Heading down to the cafeteria, he saw Brian smirking at another guy as he passed him in the hallway. Asshole, Blaine thought. He didn't understand why Kurt wanted to hang out with him. He wasn't a good person, he wasn't anything that Kurt admired. It made no sense. Nothing did these days.

Blaine got some lettuce and tired looking vegetables from the salad bar and threaded his way through the student-filled room, searching for an empty seat. 

"Blaine? Over here."

Blaine's heart began to pound as he turned to see Kurt waving at him from an empty table in the corner. While they had often had lunch together last year, it had become a rare thing these days. Kurt maintained that he was too busy for a sit down lunch. Blaine had debated whether this was a slight against his eating habits or his work ethic, but in the end it made no difference. It was possible Kurt was actually just busy.

"Hi." Kurt had a determined look on his face, and a giant red velvet cupcake on the table in front of him.

"What are you doing here? Is it somebody's birthday?"

"I wanted to see you." _Oh._. "I have to say, it kind of kills me that you look so surprised. But I guess I deserve it."

Blaine placed his food on the table and sat down, his messenger bag sliding to the ground. "No, Kurt-" 

"Yes. But I don't want to argue." Kurt crossed his legs nervously. "I have something to tell you."

Blaine couldn't believe it - was Kurt really going to break up with him in the school cafeteria? Was the cupcake supposed to make him feel better? He grabbed his bag and moved to stand up. "Not here, Kurt, I've got class in twenty minutes."

"I quit the show," Kurt blurted out.

"What?" Blaine sat back down.

"The stupid student-run series, that rehearses on Saturdays and Sundays. The one that Brian's in." Kurt was looking at him intently, but Blaine still felt like he was missing something.

"Why would you do that?"

"For us." Kurt cleared his throat and went on. "Saturday was... It was the kind of day I thought we'd have all the time. What I thought our life would be like. I want to make more time for days like that. Or afternoons, evenings, whatever. Time to be with you."

"You really mean that? But last night, you said..."

"I was drunk. I'm sorry." Kurt's face was as open as it ever got. He wasn't hiding behind a smirk or a clever turn of phrase. 

Blaine closed his eyes, trying to get his emotions under control. He felt Kurt take his hands in his and lean in close. 

"I love you, Blaine Anderson. I don't want to stop. Can we keep trying?"

Blaine tilted his head against Kurt's, feeling the tension leave his body as he breathed him in. "Yes, please."

Kurt gave Blaine's hands a squeeze and sat back, a tentative smile on his face. "I have something else to ask you."

Blaine opened his eyes, wondering what else it could be. He returned Kurt's smile. "Yes?"

"Well, I was really hoping... That you'd share your cupcake with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from the beautiful Sara Bareilles song of the same name (also shared by a Neil Diamond song - but listen to the Sara Bareilles one, you won't regret it).


	5. Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Klaineadvent (prompt: Evening). 
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken.

Kurt is swaying on the subway inbetween an exhausted mom with two overtired children hanging off of her, and a man who looks like he is on his way to a very, very boring job interview, when his phone buzzes in his pocket.

**From Blaine:  
Evening plans?**

This is Blaine-speak for “can we do something together tonight?” It means that Blaine is free – when he’s busy, he never asks this question.

Kurt doesn’t want to think about the number of times lately he’s ignored a message like this from Blaine, or replied with a laundry list of meetings and work he needs to do instead of spend time with his fiancé. He ignores the pull of the Vogue.com offices with his orderly, quiet cubicle, neat stacks of easily accomplished tasks, and unemotional email requests from Isabelle and her staff. Instead, he lets himself think about what he’d really like to do tonight, if he is honest with himself. Not the safe option, but the one he is yearning for.

**From Kurt:  
Nothing yet. I was thinking date night, maybe popcorn and a movie on the couch?**

“Date night” is Kurt-speak for sexytimes, as they both know. They haven’t been _intimate_ in weeks, and the last time was hardly more than mechanics. Kurt feels a little bit cowardly in initiating the idea by text, but he misses being close to Blaine. Things are so awkward between them now. At one point Kurt had gotten pretty good at talking about sex, but now his old lines just seem tainted by how mean they had gotten, how he and Blaine had taken each other for granted. 

Even though they have made clear to each other that they want to try to fix things, it’s hard to know how to do it. Maybe there was a manual out there somewhere – “Relationship tips for idiots: how to stop treating your fiancé like crap and remember how much you love him.” Come to think of it, there were probably thousands. Kurt had never put much stock in self-help books, though, and he figured if he and Blaine were going to make things work, they had to do it the old fashioned way: stop being jerks to each other and get their priorities straight.

A few moments have gone by, and Blaine hasn’t responded. Kurt wonders if maybe he dropped his phone in shock, or has retreated to his room to do sit-ups. Or maybe it’s too soon for such things? Shit, he really needs to have these conversations out loud with Blaine, not just in his own head. Not exactly a revelation.

**From Kurt:  
I don’t mean to push. It really can just be a movie and popcorn. I just want to be with you.**

Kurt thinks that maybe he got it right this time, when he sees Blaine’s prompt response.

**From Blaine:  
Evening plans set. Check.**

Kurt smiles. His station is next. He’ll stop by the shop on the corner on the way back to the loft and buy some flowers. If he hurries, he can make a quick detour to Blaine’s favorite bakery, too. He’s got a date with the love of his life, and things are looking up.


	6. Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Klaineadvent (prompt: Fall). 
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken.

Blaine is surprised at how nervous he gets when he sees Kurt’s text response suggesting a date night and couch time. It’s not as if they haven’t had a cozy night in dozens of times before, snuggling together as their soft kisses and touches became more heated, ending up on the floor or in the bedroom, clothes discarded, hearts pounding as they reveled in each other’s bodies. It’s just not something that’s been very successful lately. 

The memory of one of the last times is fresh in his head, and it isn’t pleasant to think about. They had gotten a late start, both of them busy with assignments and feeling stressed about life in general. Kurt had made some mindless comment that hit Blaine the wrong way, he had taken offense, and before they knew it they were off to the races, sniping at each other in the way they had each gotten so very good at. Blaine’s skin prickled just thinking about it – there had been no way they were getting physical after all that. Even the thought of Kurt touching him that night had made him flinch. Instead they just mindlessly watched the movie, put away the empty popcorn bowl, and went to bed, Blaine curling away from Kurt with his eyes tightly shut, and Kurt surfing the web until he could fall asleep.

There had been a time when the opportunity to be alone with Kurt for an evening had filled Blaine with delight and anticipation. They used to be able to rely on each other for a place to relax, to let go, to balance out the stress of their chaotic lives. No matter the slings and arrows Blaine had suffered during the day, he could fall into Kurt’s arms at night and feel the strength of his love. 

He wasn’t sure if he was ready to try again yet, not when the pain of failure was so fresh. He knew Kurt meant it when he said he wanted them to work out, but he wasn’t sure it was enough. Certainly both of them had meant it in the past, and yet here they were once again. Blaine couldn’t just turn a switch and jump back into bed with Kurt when he had so thoroughly shaken his confidence in them, in himself. He wanted to be able to open himself up to Kurt again, but he wished he could know that everything wasn’t going to combust once more. Blaine shook his head and mentally berated himself; love wasn’t something you could be sure of, was it? If he waited for certainty, would he wind up losing Kurt forever?

Blaine blinked as another text from Kurt came through. “I don’t mean to push. It really can just be a movie and popcorn. I just want to be with you.”

Maybe Kurt really could still read his mind. Maybe he was feeling nervous, too. Blaine smiled to himself and texted back, the tense feeling in his chest abating and being replaced by some of that old anticipation. Maybe someday soon it would be safe to fall again.


	7. Grace

Kurt slides open the door of the loft, carefully balancing his packages, and blinks in surprise. Blaine has strung sparkling white lights around the windows and along the tops of their cabinets and bookshelves. There is no other light in the room except for a gathering of artfully placed candles on the coffee table. It's a gorgeously romantic winter wonderland.

Blaine appears at his elbow, swiftly pressing a warm kiss to his cold cheek. "May I help you with those?" 

"Blaine," Kurt breathes out, handing him the bag from the bakery, "this is beautiful."

Blaine ducks his head and Kurt can see the hint of a blush on his cheeks even in the low light. "Well, Christmas is only a few weeks away...." 

Kurt presents Blaine with the flowers he bought him, and Blaine smiles broadly as he brings them to his face and inhales, his blush intensifying. From the looks of it, Blaine is having the same nervous-excited-fluttery feelings as Kurt. It's kind of nice to know that they are on the same page.

They spend a few minutes in the kitchen plating the treats that Kurt purchased - soft cheese and crusty bread, cashews and grapes. Kurt pours them each a glass of a dark red wine, and they carry everything over to the couch. Neither of them mentions popcorn.

Blaine puts some movie on that they've seen a dozen times, and it doesn't matter a bit because they aren't paying it any attention. Kurt feels hyper-aware of every move that Blaine makes as he carefully cuts the cheese and places it on a perfectly sized piece of bread, then meets Kurt's eyes with a questioning look. Kurt smiles and opens his mouth, Blaine's fingers brushing his lips as Blaine deposits the treat inside.

Blaine's eyes flicker to the television, where the couple on screen are swaying to a slow song. He stands, skin golden in the candlelight, and extends his hand to Kurt. "May I have this dance?"

Kurt accepts, and soon they are twirling together across their living room floor, Blaine leading with the grace that seems to come to him so effortlessly in moments like these. Kurt wants to swoon with the love and desire that he feels for this man, who despite everything they have put each other through still looks at Kurt like he hung the moon.

They slow so as not to crash into the kitchen table, and Kurt puts his arms around Blaine and pulls him close. "You are lovely, you know."

Blaine sighs and nuzzles into Kurt's neck, his hands strong and warm against Kurt's back. "You too."

"I'm so glad we're doing this." Blaine doesn't respond, but Kurt thinks it is important to keep going, to get the words out. Leaving them bouncing around inside his head doesn't do them any good. "I'm glad we're trying harder. Because, this, right here," Kurt pulls back and catches Blaine's eyes, wide and soft in the candlelight, "this is where we belong."

Blaine's expression shifts, to something serious and somber, yet still full of love. "I couldn't agree more." Blaine leans in to kiss Kurt, and it's so tender Kurt feels like he might cry. There's no comparison between tonight and the failed date nights they had tried to pull off in recent months. This is a new beginning, and Kurt has never been more grateful.


	8. Harmony

The next night, the glow from their successful date still warming his mood, Blaine was puttering around the kitchen thinking about cookie recipes and wondering if they had all the ingredients to make some gingerbread cookies. Kurt was doing homework on the couch, books and papers spread out on the coffee table in front of him. Blaine didn’t even realize he was humming until Kurt slid up next to him, bored and wanting a break, and began to sing along. _"I won’t ask for much this Christmas, I won’t even ask for snow, I’m just gonna keep on waiting, underneath the mistletoe."_ Blaine joined in, smiling, _"I won't make a list and send it, to the North Pole for Saint Nick. I won't even stay awake to hear those magic reindeer click."_

_“I just want you here tonight, holding on to me so tight-”_ But just as Blaine reached out to swing Kurt into his arms, his phone rang, the Batman theme interrupting their joyful chorus. Shit, Blaine thought, seeing the look in Kurt’s eyes as he recognized Sam’s ringtone. “I’m sorry, Kurt, he’s been trying to reach me for days, and-”

“It’s fine, take it.” Kurt gave him a halfhearted smile and went back to the couch, his papers fluttering around him as he sat down.

Blaine picked up the phone and went into the bedroom to talk, knowing full well it didn’t make much difference. There really wasn’t anywhere private in the loft, except for the bathroom, and Blaine always felt odd holding a conversation in there. “Hey, Sam.” He let his friend rant at him for a few minutes, interjecting apologies all the while. He and Sam had been texting for days about this, and Sam still hadn’t relented. “Of course I do. I promise we will. We could have an Avengers movie marathon, or…” Blaine sighed. Sometimes it seemed like he was always apologizing. “I’ve got to go, Sam. See you soon.”

Blaine hung up and went back into the living room, pausing by the couch and waiting for Kurt to look up. “Would you like a snack? I could make hot chocolate.” Kurt turned to face him, his expression blank. “We’ve got mini marshmallows.”

“What did Sam want?”

Blaine felt strange standing with Kurt curled up on the couch, so he sat down, careful to leave a few inches of space between them. “He wanted to talk about going on a ski trip between Christmas and New Year’s, like he and I did last year. The deposit for the hotel room is due soon and I haven’t sent it in yet.”

Kurt abruptly stood and grabbed his laptop off the table. “Right, got it. I think I’m going to work in the other room.”

“Kurt, wait,” Blaine followed him, despite the annoyed look Kurt shot back. “Let me finish.”

“You don’t have to explain. It’s Blam. I know about all about it.”

Blaine approached Kurt slowly. There wasn’t much room in their curtained off bedroom, but Kurt was doing his best to pace anyway. “Remember what we read about patience, and listening?” Blaine said gently. Kurt didn’t think much of self-help books, but Blaine figured they could use all the help they could get.

Kurt stopped pacing and turned to Blaine. “I need to let you finish what you’re saying and not get upset prematurely,” Kurt said begrudgingly.

Blaine smiled, and took Kurt’s hand. “You do remember.”

“Apparently only when prompted.” Kurt sighed. “Okay, fine, tell me more about Sam’s latest plan to steal you away for Christmas break. I’m sure there’s an amusing story in there somewhere.”

“Only if Sam’s wrath is amusing to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told him I wasn’t going skiing with him this year.”

“You did? But why? You love hanging out with Sam.” Kurt looked truly surprised, and for once, Blaine thought he actually did understand how important Sam’s friendship was to him.

“I truly enjoy hanging out with Sam. But I _love_ spending time with you. And right now, given everything, I think that’s a lot more important than a Blam trip to the slopes.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Blaine took Kurt’s hand and squeezed it. “I was sort of hoping you and I could do something together over break. Rent a cabin in the woods, sit by a roaring fire…”

Kurt’s eyes lit up. “We could go ice skating. And sing our Christmas duet.” Kurt’s voice had that squeaky lilt that meant he was excited, and Blaine felt like cheering.

“Exactly. Because,” Blaine caught Kurt’s eye as he took a breath, _“all I want for Christmas”_ – Blaine paused, waiting for Kurt to join in, which he did, perfectly on cue - _“is you.”_


	9. Imprint

Blaine sat at the back of the coffee shop, mindlessly dunking his biscotti into his coffee. Kurt’s coffee, really – he had gone ahead and ordered it just in case, even though Kurt had told him he probably wasn’t going to be able to make it. The biscotti softened nicely in the latte, and since Kurt wasn’t going to drink it, it might as well not go to waste.

Just then his phone buzzed with the text he was expecting, Kurt confirming that yes, his study group was having an emergency meeting, and so coffee was off. So was dinner. And given that his final project in his advanced theater scenes class was due in just a few days, he would probably go straight to his meeting with his scene partner, and wouldn’t be home until late.

Blaine sighed, and gave himself a moment to wallow. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine Kurt sitting across from him, chatting away a mile a minute about his day at school or the latest antics of his Vogue co-workers. He could feel Kurt’s hand in his on top of the table, the touch of his thumb imprinted on the base of his palm, rubbing lazy circles on his skin. He could see Kurt giving him that little smile that meant that Blaine was being entirely ridiculous, but he loved him anyway.

Blaine took a deep breath and tried to center his thoughts, to find that mindset he had promised himself he would cultivate. He knew, rationally, that Kurt wasn’t busy tonight on purpose, or at least not out of any purposeful desire not to be with him. Kurt was legitimately busy. There were only a few weeks before Christmas break, and he had work to do. So did Blaine, for that matter. 

And Blaine knew, rationally, that the reason Kurt’s study group needed an extra meeting right now was because one of the members had had the stomach flu over the weekend, and that Kurt’s scene partner was exhausting and that Kurt would never choose spending time with her over Blaine, if he had any choice. But he didn’t, not now with only days before the end of the term. Blaine obviously knew these things. What he didn’t know was why, since he fully and completely understood why Kurt didn’t have time to have coffee or dinner with him tonight, he still felt so alone.


	10. Jukebox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. 
> 
> Klaineadvent prompt this chapter: Jukebox

Blaine is perched on a stool in the student lounge, watching his friends Sheila and Zach practice their monologues, when his phone buzzes.

**From Kurt:  
What are you doing right now?**

Blaine smiles. Texting with Kurt is certain to be more interesting than listening to Zach mangle Shakespeare for the tenth time. **Just killing time until my next class,** he responds. **You?**

**From Kurt:  
Missing you.**

A warmth spreads inside Blaine as he angles himself away from the other students, trying to give himself a little privacy.

**From Blaine:  
Oh, really?**

**From Kurt:  
Really. Even though I just saw you this morning. It happens a lot, actually.**

Blaine's heart skips a beat. It's not just a text to say hi, or to remind him to get the mail. Since they have been making an effort to make things better between them - which is a funny way to look at it, because things can be so good between them at times that it is hard to imagine how those times could be better - Kurt has been texting Blaine more often. Not only that, but he seems to be using texts to say things that it is hard for him to speak out loud. Remarkably, it's working.

Thinking back to yesterday and his semi-breakdown in the coffee shop when Kurt couldn't meet up with him, Blaine grimaces. 

**From Blaine:  
I know the feeling.**

**From Kurt:  
Sometimes I think I've been mean to you because I miss you. That maybe I pretend I can fool myself into forgetting how much I want to be with you. Or I'm mad at you because I'd rather be with you than socialize with our stupid classmates, or network with cretins, or leave the loft at all.**

Blaine sucks in a breath, trying to take this in.

**From Kurt:  
I know that's really stupid. I'm sorry. You don't have to answer.**

Now Blaine's heart is beating so hard he wonders why Sheila hasn't noticed.

**From Blaine:  
Where are you?**

**From Kurt:  
The black box. We were supposed to rehearse but the director's late, now I'm pretending to run lines.**

**From Blaine:  
Meet me in the old set room in five?**

Blaine finds Kurt hovering inside the doorway to the giant room where old set pieces and props too big to fit in the prop room go to die. He grabs his wrist and tugs him back through some palm trees from the Havana scene in _Guys and Dolls,_ a giant's foot and a white cow from _Into the Woods,_ and some precariously stacked red vinyl chairs. He turns Kurt and presses him up against a jukebox, squeezing in close with his hands on either side of him.

Kurt's flashing eyes give him all the answer he needs, and Blaine kisses him hard, fiercely, something inside him demanding to be released, to be shared. How is it that Kurt has felt this way too, that they have both been struggling with the same thing? That Kurt has managed to put into words in a casual text what Blaine has been wrestling with for so long? Kurt is immediately there with the same urgency, hands roaming hot across Blaine’s back and shoulders, a moan escaping from his throat when Blaine sucks a spot under his jaw.

They kiss for what seems like forever, Blaine finally pulling back when he realizes they have shoved the jukebox up against a poorly constructed beanstalk that is about to come crashing down on their heads.

"Not that I'm complaining," Kurt says, breathless, "but what was that for?"

"I didn't know," Blaine says, putting his hands flat on Kurt's chest and looking into his eyes. "I didn't know that you missed me, too."


	11. Kindred

_“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”  
Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights_

After a brutally cold trip home from school, Blaine and Kurt were finally warming up, tucked in together on the couch under a soft burgundy throw blanket Blaine’s mom had sent them. They were supposed to be watching Baz Lurhman’s Romeo + Juliet for their Shakespeare class, but they had both seen it before, and neither of them was paying it much attention. Blaine was checking his email, and he suspected Kurt had fallen asleep. 

He was proven wrong when Kurt shifted a little behind him. “It’s okay, you’re good.” Blaine settled back down against Kurt’s chest. “What are you looking at?” Apparently Kurt wasn’t sleepy, he was just bored.

“Another message from Tina,” Blaine replied. “She’s taking a English lit course and has become infatuated with Emily Bronte."

“Wuthering Heights?” Kurt asked.

“Yup.”

“Let me see.” 

Blaine twisted to show Kurt his phone. Tina was his primary source of random internet trivia, buzzfeed lists, and cute kitten pictures. Today’s message, however, was just a quote, over a background of a sunset: “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

“Huh,” Kurt said.

“Not impressed?”

“I never was a Bronte fan,” Kurt replied. 

Blaine thought Kurt might be deflecting, but then Kurt wasn’t one for the whole soulmate thing anyway. He considered letting it drop, but that hadn’t done them much good lately. And although he couldn’t see Kurt’s face, lying back against him as he was, Kurt seemed to be content, snuggled up around him, one hand lazily stroking up and down his forearm. Might as well go for it. “Do you think it’s true?”

“For who?”

Okay, now Kurt was definitely deflecting. “For us,” Blaine said, choosing to leave off the “obviously” that probably was clear from his tone.

“I don’t really believe in souls, Blaine. We’ve had this discussion before.” Kurt huffed a little. “Why, do you want it to be true? Do you want us to be the same?”

Blaine almost replied with a defensive “of course,” before he realized that wasn’t actually what he thought at all. “Nope.” He could tell that Kurt was surprised at his answer as well – if Blaine hadn’t been leaning back on him, he probably would have sat up straight, and Blaine was willing to bet his eyebrows were raised. He shifted around and looked at Kurt. “I don’t.”

Kurt smiled, and Blaine wondered if he heard the echoes of Blaine’s proposal speech around them, just as he did whenever they talked about things like this. “I’m all ears.”

“I do think we’re soulmates, as you well know,” Blaine began, and Kurt leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“I know.”

“But I don’t think that means we’re the same. We’re kindred spirits, because our differences fit together perfectly.”

“Like a missing puzzle piece?” Kurt grinned.

“Exactly. We complement each other.”

“I did mean to tell you that your ass looks great in those pants,” Kurt joked. 

“Dork,” Blaine responded, turning to lean back against Kurt. 

A few minutes went by, and Blaine tried to focus on the movie. He needed to have something to say about it in class tomorrow. But apparently Kurt wasn’t done with the conversation.

“What if our differences are too much? What if we’re too different?” he said softly, nearly whispering it into Blaine’s ear.

“You say ‘tomato,’ I say ‘tomahto’?” Blaine asked, trying to keep it light.

“Yeah, but, you know, not cute musical theater differences. Real differences.”

Blaine turned and took Kurt’s hands in his. He looked genuinely upset. “Kurt,” Blaine breathed out. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

Kurt shook his head. “No. But what if this doesn’t work? I want it to work.” His voice was thick with unshed tears.

“I want it to work too, sweetheart. We’re doing well, aren’t we?” Blaine put a hand on Kurt’s cheek. “Name one difference we can’t work out.”

Kurt seemed to think about it for a minute. “I don’t like to go running.”

Blaine laughed gently. “So what? Lots of people don’t like running.”

“But you do. And if we both liked it, we could do it together. And then we could get really fit, and you wouldn’t feel bad about your tummy, and I’d work off all my nervous energy…”

“Kurt.”

Kurt sniffled and shook his head. “I guess for a minute there I liked the idea that our souls were the same. That part of me is the same as part of you. And if you believed it, I didn’t have to worry about whether I did or not.” 

Blaine pulled Kurt into a tight hug, and then kissed him soundly. “I love you so much, you know that?”

“I do.” Kurt breathed out a sigh. “I guess I’m still just a silly romantic.”

“Very possibly. But you’re my silly romantic, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.”


	12. Legacy

Blaine came out of the bedroom, sticking his phone back in his pocket. “My parents are having a party on New Year’s Eve. It promises to be the talk of the town. Although given that the town is Lima, I guess we need to set our expectations appropriately.”

“They want you to be there, don’t they?” Kurt tried to keep his voice even, but he couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Between his family, Blaine’s family, and all the other people that kept insisting they needed to get together, he felt like their entire Christmas break was scheduled before it even started.

“Of course they want me there.” Blaine went into the kitchen and fidgeted with the dishtowel, folding and refolding it. “And I want to go. There will be relatives there I haven’t seen in years, my cousins from San Francisco, maybe even my grandmother and her sister.” He took a breath and came over to the couch, sitting down hesitantly next to Kurt. “They want you to come too, you know.”

Kurt huffed. “They don’t like me.”

Blaine looked hurt. “That’s not true. We’ve had a few awkward moments, but they really do mean well.”

Kurt kept his mouth shut. He knew Blaine was right, but he still didn’t relish the idea of an evening with Blaine’s extended family – all those people he didn’t know, people who would judge him for being different, so far from the image of the perfect prep school boy they all imagined Blaine to be.

But Blaine wasn’t letting it go. “I can’t help it that they’re not as easy-going as Burt and Carole. I know my dad can be frustrating. But they’re my parents, Kurt. They love me, and I love them. They’ve already agreed to let me spend most of Christmas at your house. I get why you didn’t want me to invite Burt and Carole over for Christmas Eve, you want to keep that time for just you guys, but they could come to this party, couldn’t they? Can’t you at least meet me halfway?” 

Kurt looked up, surprised to see Blaine’s eyes filling with tears. “Blaine, I’m… I’m sorry…”

Blaine shook his head and wiped his face. “Shouldn’t this be part of us trying to make things better? Being together with family over the holidays… isn’t that always going to be part of our lives, if this works? Don’t we want it to?” His voice was rising as he spoke. “What kind of legacy are we leaving our kids, if we can’t even do this now?”

Kurt slid closer to Blaine and took his hand. “I honestly didn’t realize this was bothering you so much,” he said firmly. “Thank you for telling me. We’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to my dad about New Year’s.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Kurt moved to pull Blaine into a hug, but Blaine paused, giving Kurt a quizzical look.

“Kurt, why are you smiling?”

Kurt hadn’t realized he was, but at Blaine’s words he stopped trying to hide it, and let a grin spread across his face. “Because you said ‘kids.’ Someday we’ll have kids, and bring them home for Christmas.”

Blaine smiled too, his eyes lighting up like the sun. “We’ll dress them up in outfits that meet the Kurt Hummel standard, so everyone can see how beautiful they are. And the grandparents will spoil them, and give them too many presents, and feed them ice cream sundaes for breakfast.”

“And they’ll all want to be with their grandchildren on Christmas morning,” Kurt said, meeting Blaine’s eyes. “They won't want to take turns, they'll want to watch them open every present.”

Blaine tilted his head, trying to read Kurt’s meaning. “So maybe we should start getting them used to each other now?”

“Exactly.” Kurt wiped a stray tear off Blaine’s cheek, then pressed a kiss to his lips. “And if your dad gets to be too much, what’s our line?”

“Time to make more eggnog.”


	13. Midnight

It's late and Blaine is tired, but when Kurt sweeps him up into a kiss as soon as they close the loft door, he isn't so tired anymore.

"You were amazing tonight," Kurt breathes out, nuzzling against his cheek. "You blew everyone else at the Winter Showcase away."

"You really think so?" Blaine blushes a little, and lets Kurt continue to dot his cheek with kisses. He is actually proud of his rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia." It's his own arrangement, one he has been working on for a while, and the goal was to have it be sultry and sexy but a little toned down, smoother, so that his voice could really shine. Of course, it's also a love song, but he tried not to make it all about Kurt. He's done songs for Kurt dozens of times, he doesn't want Madame Tibideaux think that's all he can do. Except that in his heart of hearts, of course it was for Kurt. So he is especially pleased that Kurt liked it.

Kurt starts to unwind Blaine's scarf from around his neck, and then pauses, using the scarf to pull him in for a heated kiss, and then pushing his coat off his shoulders. "I like this, too," Kurt says, running his hand slowly down Blaine's velvet dinner jacket.

"You should, you picked it out," Blaine comments, helping Kurt out of his own coat. He has barely hung both coats in the hall when Kurt is on him again, his chest pressed to Blaine's back, hands pulling Blaine against him. Blaine relaxes into him, angles his neck back to let Kurt tease him, then turns to face him.

Before he can say a word, however, Kurt has a finger on his lips. "I know what you're thinking. But we're doing okay, aren't we? Pretty well, even?"

"Yeah...." They are, but Blaine is still hesitant to rush the physical side of their reconnection. Although his body is clearly interested.

Kurt takes his hands, dancing and twirling him to imaginary music. "You were so beautiful tonight. That arrangement was fantastic. I know you did it yourself, didn't you?" Blaine nods. "Why haven't you ever played it for me before?"

Blaine can see when Kurt realizes he made a mistake, as his eyes widen and he stops dancing. "Oh."

But Blaine really doesn’t want to revisit this. "It's okay."

Kurt tugs him over to the couch, pulling a knee up underneath him so he’s facing Blaine, and keeping hold of his hands. "That wasn't a good night for us."

"No, it wasn't." Which is an understatement.

"I wasn't very nice to you that night," Kurt says softly, biting his lip. Blaine had been excited about a gig singing at a bar with some other NYADA kids from his vocal techniques class, but Kurt had showed up late - with Brian - and missed it, including Blaine's performance of "Midnight Train."

"I wasn't very nice to you, either." They had fought earlier that day, Kurt defensive because Blaine hadn't included him in the performance, which led to Blaine making some cutting remarks about Kurt's numerous appearances at NYADA events. It had just been one more fight in a string of them, at the time it hadn't even seemed unusual. But Blaine's stomach hurts now just thinking about it. They had gone home separately that night, Blaine staying out at the bar with his classmates later than he should have, hoping to avoid a confrontation with Kurt when he got home. It hadn't worked. Kurt was waiting up for him, and he was too tired and not sober enough to filter his thoughts. Needless to say, more nasty comments had been flung by both parties before the night was over.

"We don't have to let that hurt us now, though, right?" Kurt looks so nervous as he says this, as if the memory of that one fight is going to make Blaine change his mind about their renewed efforts to make things work between them. 

Blaine shifts, sliding a little closer to Kurt, and pulling his hands onto his lap. "No, we don't. In fact, we have to decide to let all that old stuff go." This is something he's thought about, and now is as good a time as any to try to explain his thinking to Kurt. "There's too much of it to try to dissect it. But if we can just decide that it's in the past, maybe it won't hurt so much anymore."

Kurt gives a stiff nod, his lips tight, and Blaine goes on. "I'm not saying that we should pretend it never happened, or that we shouldn't try to understand what went wrong. But I'm pretty sure I know now, at least part of it." Blaine takes a breath. The words are hard to say, but he needs to say them. "What you said the other day, that you were mean because you missed me? It was like that for me, too. I’ve got to find ways of handling that – missing you – without blaming you. And I was jealous, when it wasn't fair to be."

Kurt shakes his head. "No, sometimes you were right... Sometimes I think I wanted you to be jealous. I played up the thing with Brian even though I knew it upset you." Kurt squeezes Blaine's hands and catches his eye. "But I won't do that again. I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Because it didn't work. It just made you sad, and angry, and that didn't make me feel better. It just made me feel like an asshole." Kurt fidgets and then centers himself again, his clear blue eyes staring straight into Blaine's. "It turns out that you being happy is a really important part of me being happy."

It's a simple statement, but it rings so true, and Blaine feels his heart clench. "Kurt,” he breathes out, “that’s… that makes me really happy.” He feels silly with how wide he’s smiling. “And not to overuse the word, but I want you to be happy, too."

Kurt smiles too, his eyes crinkling. "Then maybe we can both just try to make each other happy, and it will all work out?" Blaine nods. "I'd like that."

Kurt puts one arm around Blaine and grabs for the remote with the other, finding a cooking show for them to watch as they unwind. They don't talk about it any more that night, but Blaine now feels significantly better about their chances of making it this time around. His hopes rise even higher when Kurt snuggles closer and tells him that he wishes he could have sang "Midnight Train" to Blaine. "Because it's true, you know," Kurt says softly, and starts to sing, his mouth close to Blaine's ear, _"I'd rather live in your world than live without you in mine."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Midnight Train to Georgia_ was written by Jim Weatherly.


	14. Needle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: needle

Kurt hears the crash backstage and doesn't think much of it - the tech kids are always messing around - until the stage manager sticks her head out from behind the curtain and yells compellingly for Kurt. He feels a wash of fear as he dashes up on to the stage and around to the back, and a crowd of students part as he approaches. The fallen set pieces are lifted and under them is Blaine, curled on his side on the floor. 

"Blaine!" Kurt is on his knees next to him, and Blaine' eyes blink open, wide and scared. He recovers his composure quickly, though, although Kurt still can’t seem to catch his breath. 

"I'm okay," Blaine says shakily, as Kurt helps him sit up. But then he gasps with pain and stares, face draining of color, as he sees a bright red stain of blood spreading down the arm of his white oxford shirt.

A cab is called and soon they are on their way to the hospital, a costume piece that may once have been a wizard's cape pressed up against Blaine's injured arm. Kurt is close against his other side, heart still beating hard in his chest. The silence is awkward, and Kurt isn't sure what to do. 

It gets both better and worse when they are finally seen by a doctor. They peel off Blaine’s blood-soaked shirt to find a ragged gash down Blaine's left shoulder and upper arm; most of it is fairly shallow, but he will need a few stitches. Blaine's face goes from pale to sickly green when he hears this, and something in Kurt opens up and his arms are around him, heedless of the blood. "Hey, it's okay. You're going to be okay." Kurt rubs his back, takes his right hand and holds it tight.

Blaine shakes his head, lips pressed tightly together. Kurt knows he is trying not to cry. Blaine hates needles, is scared to death of them. Just hearing about about Kurt's infamous adventure with limoncello and the tattoo gone wrong had made Blaine incredibly nervous, his discomfort over the idea of Kurt getting tattooed apparent even over Skype. 

Kurt shoves Blaine with his hip to make some space and sits himself on the examining table next to him, an arm around Blaine pulling him close against him. "I'm right here, it's okay. You don't even have to look." 

The nurse leaves the room with a promise to be right back and Blaine takes a shuddering breath, granted a momentary reprieve. But then he glances at the clock and sits up, alarmed. "Kurt, it's almost three. You have to go - your presentation -"

Kurt was scheduled to do a scene this afternoon as part of his final grade in his modern theater seminar. But it suddenly didn't seem very important. "Don't worry, I'll reschedule it."

"But Professor Lee said there'd be no extensions," Blaine protests. "You'll get a zero." He takes a breath and extracts himself from Kurt's hold. "Go. I'll be okay. It's not worth it."

 _I'm not worth it,_ Kurt hears. There's no way he's leaving Blaine here by himself. "Will you tell me the truth if I ask you something?"

Blaine looks at Kurt, confused. "Sure."

"Will you feel better if I stay?"

Kurt can see Blaine struggling to answer truthfully and still come up with an answer that lets Kurt leave. He can't, and his face falls.

Kurt wonders when Blaine admitting he needed him became something he was ashamed of. He puts his arm back around him, slides a hand into his hair and pulls his head onto his shoulder. "I don't want to be anywhere but here. Professor Lee will understand, but even if she doesn't, that doesn't matter. You're more important."

An intern comes in, the needle comes out, and Kurt is firm about staying seated next to Blaine. When the doctor realizes how shaken Blaine is he relents, and goes about stitching Blaine up while he leans against Kurt, face buried in his neck. Afterwards the nurse puts a bandage over the worst part and Kurt takes off his thin sweater and helps Blaine put it on - no amount of dry cleaning is going to save Blaine's shirt. Not surprisingly, Kurt has an extra layer on today.

Later that night, Blaine is sacked on out on the couch, drowsily pretending to do his homework while Kurt cleans up from dinner. He joins Blaine, checking the calendar on his phone and then poking him with his elbow until he's paying attention. "I was able to schedule the appointment to remove your stitches for the Friday before we go back to Ohio, so you won't have to deal with it there."

Blaine shivers. "I don't want to think about taking the stitches out. It's almost as bad as getting them in."

Kurt knows this is true - it doesn't necessarily hurt, but it feels weirdly wrong to have string pulled through your skin. He hadn't really considered that Blaine's fear of needles and stitches might also come from personal experience. "I know, it won't be fun. But I made the appointment first thing, so you don't have to worry about it all day. And then maybe we can go to that café on 4th for breakfast, you can get that banana French toast you like."

Blaine gives Kurt a quizzical look. "Or I could meet you somewhere closer to home."

Kurt can't help rolling his eyes, just a little. "I'm coming with you, silly," he says, keeping his voice light. 

"You don't have to do that." Blaine looks down, suddenly absorbed in his reading.

Kurt slides over and pulls Blaine's legs over his lap. Blaine gives him an irritated look, like a cat who would prefer to be left alone. It's such an uncharacteristic reaction for Blaine that Kurt is briefly unsure of what he is about to say.

"Blaine? It's really not a hardship for me to come to the doctor with you. I generally like your company, you know."

Blaine just shrugs.

"Hey, listen." Kurt takes Blaine's book away and he turns to Kurt, still trying to maintain the facade of irritation. 

"What?"

"Look, I know it's been a long day, and maybe this isn't the right time for this conversation, but something's been bothering me." 

Blaine waves his hand as if to say "go on."

"Earlier, at the hospital, I asked you if you'd feel better if I stayed with you. And this seemed to upset you."

Another shrug.

Kurt takes Blaine's hand and ducks down to catch his eye. "Blaine, I love you. Do you really think that it bothers me that you want me around?"

"You know it's more than that."

"More than what?"

"I need you too much," Blaine says sadly. "I should be able to handle more of this kind of stuff by myself."

"That's ridiculous." Kurt is aware that this isn't a very useful counter argument. He sighs. "How you define too much? Because I am pretty sure that accompanying your fiancé to the emergency room is _not_ too much. There's the whole blood and shock thing to really drive home that point. And I know you're perfectly capable of going to get your stitches out by yourself, but neither of us have class that day, and it freaks you out, so why shouldn't I come with you?"

Blaine won't meet his gaze, and Kurt can see a tear slide down his cheek. He really shouldn't have pushed this now, Blaine is exhausted and he isn't up for this. But now that he's started he has to finish it. Kurt wraps his arms around Blaine, careful to avoid his injured arm, and pulls him close. "Come here, sweetheart. You know, no one else needs me the way you do. And that doesn't feel like a burden to me. It feels like a privilege." He rubs Blaine's back, relieved at the way he relaxes against him. "It feels good to be needed. I like taking care of you, when you need it. And I know you always do the same for me, right?" It's true - Blaine is excellent at dealing with Kurt when he's sick - Kurt is a terrible patient.

"Of course," Blaine whispered. "But it feels like too much."

"You just have to trust me that I mean it, then. Let me take care of you, okay?"

"Okay."

Kurt knows Blaine has put his trust in him before, and he has let him down. Frankly, he's grateful that Blaine is willing to do it again. This time, he tells himself, he's not going to get scared of the weight of Blaine's trust. He is not going to screw this up again.


	15. Occasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: occasion
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. Read this and previous chapters on A03. AU after Season 5.

Blaine gets into bed before nine o’clock; he’s wiped out from the stress of the day. He claims his arm isn’t hurting him much but from the way he holds himself Kurt can tell he’d probably rather just go to sleep and forget about it for a while. Kurt tucks him in with a kiss and then settles himself at the kitchen table, running through emails from Isabelle and editing a blog post she wanted him to look at. 

It’s not until after midnight that Kurt climbs into bed, careful not to jostle Blaine. But Blaine knows he’s there, turns to face him and blinks sleepily at him, his long lashes sweeping up and down. 

“Hey, how are you feeling? Can I get you anything?”

Blaine purses his lips a little and looks around. “Water?”

“Sure thing.” Kurt has of course left a bottle of water by the side of the bed, which he hands obediently to Blaine. 

“Thank you,” Blaine says, his expression more grateful than a mere room temperature bottle of water really warrants. Blaine tilts the water bottle up to drink it and manages to spill a little on his bare chest. “Oops,” he says, grinning broadly.

This is when Kurt realizes that perhaps Blaine’s nighttime pain meds have hit him a little harder than the ones he took during the day. “Not to worry,” Kurt says, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at Blaine’s chest. 

“I was hot,” Blaine says, apparently to explain why he’s going to bed without a shirt in December.

“Mmm,” Kurt replies. “That’s okay.”

Blaine shivers as Kurt brushes at his chest. “But now I’m cold.”

Kurt can’t help but smile. Blaine is adorable like this, his hair going every which way, his eyes bright and sincere. “Would you like some tea?”

“That would be great,” Blaine says seriously. As Kurt moves to get up, Blaine grabs his arm. “Wait. Could you put honey in it? And lemon?”

“Sure.” 

“It doesn’t have to be Meyer lemon,” Blaine clarifies. “Any lemon is fine with me. I can’t tell the difference.”

“Okay, sweetie, anything you want,” Kurt says, laughing at the memory of Rachel’s ridiculousness.

“Anything?” Blaine asks, raising his eyebrows to surprising heights.

“Anything.” Kurt leans down to press a kiss to Blaine’s forehead, and Blaine grabs his shoulder and pulls him back down to the bed.

“Maybe a blowjob?” Blaine whispers in Kurt’s ear, hand roaming down to the small of his back.

Kurt knows this is not the right occasion for such things, that it is the pain meds talking, but a shiver of excitement runs through him anyway. It’s been a long time since they were intimate, which overall he thinks has been good for them. He knows Blaine is hesitant to get physical again, not until they are on firmer ground, and he’s been glad for it. Not that he doesn’t miss his fiancé’s body – far from it – but when they do reconnect in that way again, he wants them to both be ready. “Let me get your tea.” He runs a hand through Blaine’s hair and gets out of bed. Blaine lets him go with a soft smile and curls himself around Kurt’s pillow.

A few minutes later Kurt is back with the tea. Blaine is sitting up in bed, and from the look on his face, he’s a bit more aware than he was earlier. He’s also got his pajama top back on. Kurt hands him the mug and Blaine nods his thanks. Kurt put an ice cube in it so Blaine can drink it right away, and Blaine notices this and his eyes light up. “You always know what I want.”

“Hardly.” Kurt gives Blaine a wry smile and climbs into bed next to him. Blaine passes him the mug of tea, and they trade sips until it is gone, the silence for once comfortable around them. Kurt lays down and reaches for Blaine. “Come here.”

Blaine nestles up against Kurt’s side, his hurt arm arranged stiffly over Kurt’s stomach. Kurt gently pulls the blankets up over them and hums contentedly into Blaine’s hair.

“You knew I didn’t really want you to give me a…”

“Yes.”

Blaine relaxes into Kurt, his hand finding a comfortable spot on his waist. “But, maybe, soon?”

Kurt feels a warmth spreading through him, and it’s not from the anticipation of sexytimes with Blaine, at least not just that. It’s from the knowledge that this is working, that _they_ are working. He holds Blaine tight and dares to let hope blossom and take hold.


	16. Please

Blaine is pacing the apartment when Kurt gets home. He knows he should give Kurt a chance to settle in before diving into anything, but he just can’t. He’s too nervous. Things have been going so well, and he doesn’t want that to end. His stomach aches with the thought of how this might go.

“Okay, so I’m hoping you might be able to view this as less of a screw-up and more of an opportunity,” he blurts out.

Kurt turns to Blaine as he hangs up his scarf and coat, his face a careful blank. “Oh?”

Blaine gives Kurt a quick kiss on his cold cheek and leads him to the couch. “You’re going to be annoyed with me. I’m sorry, I really am.” Blaine is too antsy to stay sitting, and soon he is pacing again.

Kurt purses his lips. “Blaine, just spit it out already.” 

Blaine can hear the annoyance in his tone. He had been searching for a better way to present this, to avoid this moment, but he hadn’t come up with one.

“How would you like to drive home for Christmas? It would be fun, like a road trip?”

Kurt frowns at Blaine and doesn’t reply.

“All right, you know how I said I would book our plane tickets home? Well, that night our internet connection was acting up, and I couldn’t make it go through, so I was going to get back to it later…”

“But you didn’t.” Kurt’s voice is flat.

“I didn’t. I fell asleep, and I totally forgot, until this morning when my mom asked what time our flight got in. And now it’s too late to buy tickets, I checked, the prices are outrageous. But I’ve got a solution – my TA said we could borrow her car, it’s got four wheel drive and it’s in good shape, I’ll even drive the whole time if you want me to.” Blaine stops at the kitchen table, his hands clutching the top of a chair, his eyes squeezed shut. “I’m really sorry. Please say it’s okay.”

Blaine is startled to feel Kurt’s cold hands on his. “Blaine, it’s okay. I’m not mad.”

Blaine opens his eyes. “You’re not?” He pauses, surprised. “I’d be mad.”

“You would?” Kurt cocks his head at him, his eyes searching for something. 

Blaine considers this. “Well, last month, I probably would have been.” Last month, when it was hard not to see every little bump in the road as an obstacle placed there purposefully by Kurt to trip him up. 

Kurt looks down, at where he is holding Blaine’s hands. “You’re right. Last month I probably would have been mad, too.”

“But now…”

“But now it’s not last month.” Kurt looks up at Blaine, as if challenging him to argue about it. “We’re not fighting about things like this anymore.”

“I’d understand if you were mad, though,” Blaine goes on, still not sure if he is forgiven. “You’ve never wanted to drive home, especially in winter. The weather can be bad. And this was totally my fault.”

“It’s not like you did it on purpose, right?” Kurt raises an eyebrow at him.

“No, of course not.” 

“And this means I’ve got a few hundred dollars in my bank account I didn’t think I’d have, less gas money, of course.”

“True – although I’m paying for the gas.”

Kurt shakes his head. “There is one problem with your plan, however.”

Blaine braces himself. “What?”

“I’ll have to make a new playlist. With twelve hours in the car, we’ll have time for a lot of holiday duets.”


	17. Rent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written for Klaineadvent - prompt: Rent
> 
>  
> 
> _A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5._

Not only did Kurt’s professor allow him to reschedule the performance of his final scene for his seminar, but he and his classmates were asked to perform the group of scenes again right before break. Which was how Blaine ended up in the round room, in the midst of students and professors, watching Kurt perform a scene with a tall student who reminded him eerily of Noah Puckerman. Kurt sang out in a clear, strong, voice, captivating everyone in the audience. His scene partner did an admirable job, but for Blaine, there was no comparison. 

_Live in my house, I'll be your shelter_  
 _Just pay me back_  
 _With one thousand kisses_  
 _Be my lover, I'll cover you_

_Open your door, I'll be your tenant_  
 _Don't got much baggage, to lay at your feet_  
 _But sweet kisses, I've got to spare_  
 _I'll be there and I'll cover you_  
 _I think they meant it_

_When they said you can't buy love_  
 _Now I know you can rent it_  
 _A new lease you are my love_  
 _On life, be my life_

Blaine remembered going to see _Rent_ with Kurt years ago. Blaine had been totally unprepared for how hard the story would hit him, the tale of a group of friends struggling to survive and hold on to love amid the pain of illness and poverty. Ultimately the group faced the death of their friend Angel, played tonight, of course, by Kurt. 

____________Tears slipped down Blaine’s cheeks as he watched the scene, Kurt more than doing justice to the song of love in a hopeless place. After the number was over Blaine excused himself and washed his face in the men’s room, then lingered outside in the hall until Kurt was ready to go._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He greeted Kurt with a lingering kiss, a bit out of character for a crowded NYADA hallway, but he needed the connection. Arms linked, they made their way home in the bitter cold, Blaine trying to focus on the fact that at the end of their journey they had a warm, safe home to cosy up in, not an unheated, unsecure flat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________They changed out of their suits into pajamas and got straight into bed, Kurt pointing out that it would be warmer there than anywhere else, and noting that he wasn’t going to get any homework done now anyway. Blaine didn’t object, and promptly settled in against Kurt, pushing aside any worries about whether Kurt wanted him there tonight._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Blaine? You’ve been awfully quiet. Something wrong?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Blaine stayed where he was, tucked in against Kurt’s shoulder. “No, nothing’s wrong.” His voice didn’t sound nearly as confident as he would have liked, and Kurt obviously wasn’t buying it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Was I really that uninspiring?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Blaine sat up, the blanket falling to pool around his waist. “No, Kurt, not at all. You were fantastic. You were in great voice, so expressive…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Thank you,” Kurt said, blushing adorably. “But, then, why so glum?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Blaine hesitated. He considered making further excuses – maybe a headache? – but that wasn’t what they were about now. It wasn’t going to get them anywhere to hide his fears from Kurt. Blaine closed his eyes and tried to identify what he was actually feeling. “I don’t know. You were just so convincing. It felt like it was real.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I didn’t realize that was a problem,” Kurt said lightly, as if he was trying not to take offense._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“It’s not, of course it’s not.” Blaine crossed his legs, facing Kurt, and took his hand. “It’s just that it scares me.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“That I’m good at this?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Oh god, no, that’s a whole different issue.” Blaine smiled at Kurt and poked him in the chest. “Your brilliance in comparison to the rest of us mere mortals is a burden I’m quite used to.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Ha, ha,” Kurt responded. “So what are you scared of?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Oh, I don’t know. Getting HIV, dying, losing you, nothing major.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Blaine, honey,” Kurt shifted closer and put his hands on Blaine’s shoulders. “That show isn’t us. We’re not going to get AIDS.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“No? Look how easily Artie got chlamydia. He was caught totally by surprise.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Artie was having unprotected sex with multiple partners. We, on the other hand, are clean and in a monogamous relationship. And as far as I know, neither of us has any plans to do intravenous drugs. Right?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Right, but…” Blaine knew these things in the rational part of his brain, but it didn’t seem to make any difference to how he felt. He was still scared by the fragility of it all, of how fast everything could go wrong. They lost Finn, Burt got sick, no one was safe, not really. And watching Kurt in that scene, imagining it being Kurt… “Anything could happen. You could get some other horrible illness, or get hit by a bus. It’s stupid, I know…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“It’s not stupid.” Kurt pulled him in to a tight hug, rubbing up and down his back. “Don’t think I don’t worry about you, too. One of these days you could be jumping up on a coffee table in the middle of a show-stopping number and hit it just the wrong way and bam – disaster.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Blaine giggled, as Kurt obviously intended, and pulled back to look at Kurt. “I promise to be careful when I jump on furniture.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“And I promise not to get hit by a bus.” Kurt lay back down and Blaine joined him, snuggling up on his chest again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I love you,” he said softly, pressing a kiss into Kurt’s neck._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I love you, too,” Kurt replied, leaning down to kiss him back. They were too tired to pursue things much further, but Blaine relaxed into Kurt’s body, feeling better than he had all day. He was just dozing off when Kurt spoke up again. “What would you have done if we did the scene where Angel actually dies?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Blaine shrugged. “Maybe pretend to have an asthma attack and flee the room?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“You don’t have asthma.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“That’s why I would _pretend.”__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kurt sings "I'll Cover You" from _Rent_. At the end the song is reprised by his lover, Collins, after Angel dies of AIDS.


	18. Scarf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: Scarf
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5.

“Blaine – look – it’s perfect!” Kurt pulled the scarf out of the yellow mailing envelope and held it out for Blaine to admire. It was silky soft, cornflower blue with a delicate pattern. “I can’t believe you thought of this. She’s going to adore it.”

Blaine had found the scarf online one night when he couldn’t sleep and was surfing the web looking for a superhero themed present for Sam. It had barely discernable “hidden Mickeys” woven into the pattern, perfect for feeding Carole’s not-so-secret Disney obsession. 

“She is going to love it so much, she’s going to give you a great big hug,” Blaine agreed, grabbing Kurt and mimicking the almost painful, squeezing hugs that Carole liked to bestow on Kurt these days. Blaine relaxed into the hug for a moment, relieved that Kurt was excited about the gift. He had been afraid that after it actually showed up, Kurt might decide it was too childish or unfashionable.

“Don’t get too excited. She’s going to hug you too,” Kurt said, extracting himself from Blaine’s arms and giving him a look. 

Blaine tilted his head, confused. “But I’m not even going to be there. You’re doing presents on Christmas Eve, just family, like you wanted to.”

“But this present should be from both of us. You found it, after all. I wouldn’t have even known where to look.” Kurt flopped down on the couch and looked up at Blaine apologetically. “I’ve actually been rethinking the whole Christmas Eve thing.”

“Oh?” Blaine sat down next to Kurt. He had been trying not to focus on how adamant Kurt had been about spending certain time during the holidays just with Burt and Carole, figuring that it probably had as much to do with Finn as with the fact that he and Kurt had been fighting so much. But it still hurt.

“Well, since we have joint gifts for both of them, it doesn’t really make sense.” 

“For both of them? I thought you were getting your dad tickets to a game.”

Kurt sighed, and gave Blaine a halfhearted smile. “I may have bought four tickets, so we could all go.” Seeing Blaine’s surprise, he went on. “You know my dad will have more fun if you’re there. Plus, what I like best about sporting events is watching how crazy the two of you get together.” Kurt looked down at the scarf in his hands. “You’d be doing me a favor, really.”

Blaine tried to keep a straight face and not let on quite how happy he was at this turn of events. Kurt really wanted him with him, with his family. And he obviously had been thinking about this for a while. “Kurt. Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure.” Kurt slid closer to Blaine and looped the scarf over his neck, pulling him closer. Blaine grinned and complied, leaning over until his forehead was touching Kurt’s. “You will come over that night, right? And come to the game?” Kurt asked, his eyes almost crossing as he tried to look into Blaine’s from mere inches away.

“Of course. I’d love to.” Blaine gave Kurt a soft kiss, then sat up as much as he could with Kurt still holding the ends of the scarf, his thigh pressed tight against Kurt’s. “But what made you change your mind about having me there with you guys on Christmas Eve?”

“Well, I guess it’s like you said. Christmas Eve is for family.”


	19. Twist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: Twist
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5.

Kurt had turned off most of the lights in the loft and had just lit a few strategically placed candles when the door slid open with a bang.  
“Hola!” Santana breezed in, dumping a duffel bag by the door and shaking the snowflakes out of her hair. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” She came over to the table and sniffed the candles appreciatively. “Mmm, cinnamon.”

“Santana? What are you doing here?” To say Kurt was surprised would be an understatement. He hadn’t heard from Santana in months. Although her showing up without advance notice wasn’t exactly out of character.

“Need to crash for a few days, maybe a week or two. Britt said she’d meet me in the city for the holidays. I assumed she meant New York… and Christmas. If she doesn’t show up soon, I may need a plan B.”

“Santana, I don’t think…”

“Oh, shit, did I interrupt something?” Santana looked around at the darkened room, and peered closely at Kurt. “You are definitely giving off a ‘please fuck me’ kind of vibe. But I thought you and gel head split up – Rachel said it was like World War three in here last time she visited.”

Kurt stood, frozen, as Santana continued her tour around the loft, picking up knickknacks and putting them back down in different places, as if to add to Kurt’s torment.

“I don’t smell raspberry,” she said, “and the soda machine is gone. Too bad, I actually liked it.” She paused, looking at Kurt with an almost proud look on her face. “Wait, did you kick Blaine out again? Do you have someone else in there?” Santana headed towards their bedroom.

“Santana, you can’t…” Kurt rushed to grab her arm, but she just put up a hand and struck a pose.

“Like I’m gonna pass on this. I’m actually surprised that shorty’s gone. He had his desperate claws in you so deep, they probably left scars. Must have been an epic break-up.”

Santana drew back the privacy curtain, and Kurt’s heart sank as he saw Blaine perched on the edge of the bed. His hair was damp and curly, dripping on to the soft gray t-shirt that had once been Kurt’s, but which they seemed to now trade back and forth between them. If there was any doubt that Blaine had heard every word that had poured out of Santana’s mouth, the hurt look on his face confirmed it. 

“Crap. That’s a twist,” Santana said, looking back and forth between Blaine and Kurt. 

Kurt watched as Blaine stood, rubbing his hands against his striped sleep pants, and squared his shoulders, breathing deeply. Kurt knew he should speak up, but no words came.

Softly, but firmly, Blaine spoke. “You can’t stay here, Santana.”

“What? You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m sorry to tell you that there was no epic break-up. But we’re kind of in the middle of an epic reconciliation, and we need this time. For ourselves. Without you.” Blaine’s voice was certain, allowing no debate.

Santana spun and looked at Kurt. “You’re going to let this twink throw me out of your place? Are you serious?”

Kurt glanced at Blaine, but he was keeping his eyes firmly on Santana. “It’s Blaine’s home, too, Santana. And I agree with him, one hundred percent. You can’t stay here now.” He found Santana’s bag by the door and handed it to her. “You can stay with Elliott. His roommate’s gone already, he’ll have space. I’ll text him and let him know you’re coming.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” Santana fumed. “What kind of friend are you?”

“We can still hang out,” Blaine volunteered carefully. “Call us tomorrow, we can get coffee, or dinner.”

Kurt knew exactly how Santana would respond to that, and she did, immediately rebuffing Blaine’s polite offer.

“I don’t want to have coffee with you, dork,” Santana huffed. “I don’t need a playdate. I just needed a place to stay. See if I ever let you crash at my place.” And with that, she was gone.

Kurt closed the door behind her and locked it. “Not that she ever has a place for us to crash at,” he muttered into the silence. When he turned, Blaine was still standing in their bedroom, a nervous look replacing the confidence he had displayed a moment ago.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Blaine said hesitantly, his eyes flickering to meet Kurt’s and then away, to where his hands were clenched together in front of him.

Kurt moved towards him, trying to judge his mood. Blaine had this amazing way of laughing at himself – at them both - that had saved them from many awkward times in the past, but Kurt wasn’t sure they were there yet.

Kurt tentatively reached out and let his hand rest on Blaine’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said softly. 

“For what?”

“For standing up for us.”

Blaine swallowed hard. “Do you think I’m desperate, like she said?”

Kurt tugged on Blaine until they were both sitting down on the bed. He pulled a leg up next to him until his knee was pressed against Blaine’s thigh, and rocked his shoulder against Blaine’s. “Well, for starters, you know Santana. Everything she says has to be taken with as much salt as McDonald’s serves annually.”

Blaine shrugged, fingers playing with ends of the drawstring on his pants.

“And honestly, if you’re desperate, than so am I.” Blaine looked up at that, searching Kurt’s face. “I am seriously, thoroughly, entirely committed to you, to this, to making us work this time.” Kurt pulled out his phone and typed for a minute. “Look. Definitions of ‘desperate’ include ‘making a final, ultimate effort, giving all.’ That’s where I am. I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of, do you?”

Blaine shook his head. “No, I don’t. But that’s not what she meant…”

“I disagree,” Kurt said mildly. “To the extent Santana meant anything, I’m pretty sure it is. She’s criticizing you for caring, for trying. It’s bullshit, and she probably actually admires you for it, but that’s what it is.”

“I do care,” Blaine said, his voice breaking. “So much, Kurt.”

“I know. And I love you for it.” Kurt pulled Blaine into a hug, smoothing his hands over his back. “Desperately.” He squeezed Blaine tighter, pressing his face into his neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop Santana from barging in here.”

Blaine huffed. “It’s like watching a train wreck. You can’t stop it, and it’s hard to look away.”

Kurt nodded against Blaine’s shoulder. “It’s true. She’s a force of nature.”

“We should still call her tomorrow, though. Do you think she’d want to go to the diner?”

Kurt laughed, pulling back to see a shy smile on Blaine’s face. “You are the nicest person on earth sometimes, you know that?”

“It’s the holidays, Kurt. I can’t help it.”

Kurt sighed, leaning into Blaine. “She kind of ruined our evening, though.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Blaine sat up, considering. “Last day of school tomorrow before break.”

“I should really study, I’ve got a test first thing.”

“I should review my monologue.”

They sat, staring at each other, until Blaine started to laugh.

“What?” Kurt asked, smiling.

“All I really want to do right now is kiss you. Is that so wrong?” Blaine flushed as he spoke, his grin lighting his face.

“Make-out session first, study later?” Kurt suggested, pushing a stray curl behind Blaine’s ear.

Blaine leaned into Kurt’s touch, eyes flashing. “I like the way you think.”


	20. Uniform

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: uniform
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5.

Much to Kurt’s surprise, he got a text the next morning from Santana, informing him that she and Brittany were coming by to take them out dancing that night. It wasn’t exactly what Kurt had imagined for a celebration of their last day of term, but Blaine reacted to the news with a bounce and a grin, and frankly, his excitement was too hard to resist.

Santana and Britt showed up that evening with two overflowing shopping bags. Santana pulled Kurt into the bedroom while Brittany started whispering in Blaine’s ear, and soon Kurt was obediently changing his clothes, wondering what on earth was going on. When he questioned Santana, she just shrugged. “Brittany didn’t think you guys would have anything to wear to a gay bar, so we went shopping.” She smirked. “Merry Christmas.”

When the girls had finished having their way with Kurt and Blaine, they led them out into the main room for the reveal, making Kurt regret all the times he had left America’s Next Top Model playing on the television in the loft. Brittany presented Blaine first, making him walk back and forth and do a little spin in the middle. She had dressed him in tight dark jeans and a slim black t-shirt, but that wasn’t all; she had washed and styled his hair so that each curl was formed just so, and lined his eyes dramatically with black liner. Black boots and a leather jacket completed the look. 

Kurt’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he looked at Blaine, and Brittany grabbed his hand and swung it back and forth. “Do you like your present?” she said to Kurt, smiling broadly.

Blaine heard her, and blushed furiously, coming to stand next to Kurt. He petted the soft leather of the jacket, shaking his head. “Santana, this is too much…” 

Santana ignored him and tugged at Kurt, commanding him to strut. He stood up tall and complied. The black pants Santana had bought him fit him like a glove, and he knew they made his ass look fantastic. His long sleeved top was made of a stretchy material with sparkly lines of silver and blue running through it in a swirled pattern. Kurt could tell that the shirt fit just right, clinging to his biceps and stretching across his chest, and just barely reaching the waistband of his pants, for which Santana had given him a leather belt accented with silver chain. Santana had put eyeliner on him too, but only a little, finishing the look with glitter to accent his eyes and his cheekbones. 

“Our work here is done,” Santana pronounced, clapping her hands together. “Come on, let’s go.”

The club Santana had in mind was one that had only recently opened up, and from what Kurt had heard, it was impossible to get into. This proved no obstacle for Santana, however, and she boldly steered them to the front of the line and flashed a bright smile at the bouncer as he unhooked the rope and let them through with an appreciative nod. 

Blaine headed off to hang up their coats, Brittany skipping along with him, her hand curled around his arm. Santana watched them with a distracted look on her face, and Kurt realized he probably looked exactly the same. “So why does Blaine get to look like sex on a stick and I look like a sparkly Christmas ornament?” Kurt asked Santana.

“Hummel, pay attention,” Santana said, looking at Blaine as he made his way back towards them through the crowd. “He thinks _you_ look like sex on a stick.”

Blaine joined them, melting up against Kurt’s side and gazing at him with his gorgeous eyes, which now looked even more ridiculously sexy than usual circled with eyeliner. “Point taken,” Kurt whispered to Santana, and stood to lead Blaine out on to the dance floor.

The music was loud and seemed to seep right into Kurt’s bones, and he gladly let it fill him. They danced, together and apart, with Santana and Brittany and by themselves, both of them enjoying the chance to just let go and enjoy themselves. 

Blaine spun away from Brittany and back to Kurt, his smile bright. Kurt pulled him tight against him, Blaine’s body hot under the thin t-shirt – he had ditched the leather jacket some time ago, but that worked just fine for Kurt. “You look amazing tonight,” Kurt whispered to Blaine, and Blaine grinned, taking Kurt’s hands and spinning him away and back again. 

“You do, too.” Blaine’s face was open as he reached a hand up to trace around Kurt’s eyes. “I like the glitter.”

“Yeah? It’s not too much?”

“Define too much,” Blaine said, grinning. “You’re my gay bar superstar, and I love you.”

“That’s certainly a blast from the past. How much have you had to drink?” 

“Three bottles of water, two diet cokes…”

“And a partridge in a pear tree?”

“Precisely.”

Kurt liked knowing that whatever was happening tonight – and given the way Blaine kept looking at him, his eyes wide behind his eyeliner, and letting his fingers linger and stray across Kurt’s body every time he came close, something was happening – it wasn’t going to be influenced at all by alcohol. They had put too much work into coming back together, into being comfortable with each other, to rush things for the wrong reasons. Looking at Blaine tonight made Kurt fairly tremble with desire, and he let himself hope that Blaine was there, too.

The music slowed and Blaine came in close, his hand reaching up to pull Kurt in for a lingering kiss which sent electric shivers through his body. Then with a flirtatious look Blaine turned, his back to Kurt’s front. He stretched his arms up to link back around Kurt’s neck, and kept dancing, the position putting his chest on display like a preening bird. Kurt reached around to hold him, his hands firm against his body. Blaine was swaying gently to the music, and when Kurt slid a hand down to his hip, Blaine pressed back, slowly grinding his ass against Kurt. Kurt let his other hand roam over Blaine’s chest, and felt Blaine gasp as he lazily began to stroke over a nipple, his thin t-shirt hardly in the way. Kurt kept up the movement over Blaine’s chest, and leaned in to suck kisses into his neck, loving the way it felt to have Blaine touching him nearly from head to toe. 

Blaine’s movements became more rapid, disconnected from the music, in tune only with Kurt, and he lay his head back against Kurt’s neck. He was barely holding on any more, letting Kurt take his weight as Kurt played him like an instrument. Kurt was just realizing how far along he was, too, when Blaine abruptly turned back towards him, resting his forehead on Kurt’s shoulder while his hips continued their restless circles. “Unless you want me to come in my pants right here on the dance floor, I think we should go home,” he panted out in a low voice.

Kurt sucked in a breath, and Blaine just kissed him hard, his tongue darting into his mouth. “Blaine,” Kurt breathed out, momentarily speechless. 

“I’m serious,” Blaine said, his hand grabbing Kurt’s ass and pulling him tight against him, his erection now as obvious to Kurt as Kurt’s was to Blaine. “You are so hot, Kurt, tonight, and… and always… and it’s been so long… please, take me home.”

Kurt stepped back, willing his body to calm down, so he could do this right. He took Blaine’s hands and searched his eyes. “Okay. But we don’t have to…”

Blaine took a deep breath, smiled his earnest smile, and took their clasped hands and held them together between their chests, squeezing tight. “I know. But I want to, if you do. I’m ready. I trust you.” 

It was as if they were alone on the dance floor, and all he could see was Blaine, the Blaine he knew and loved, regardless of the smudged eyeliner and the fashionable curls. His beautiful, sexy boy, who still never failed to take his breath away.


	21. Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: vacation
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5.

When they got back from the club that night they fell into bed together in perfect synch, laughing and kissing and finally taking things further again, Blaine feeling not an ounce of hesitation as he let himself go, confident once more that he was safe in Kurt's arms.

But when Blaine woke later that night, the euphoria he had felt earlier was gone. In its place was the cold echo of a nightmare that left his chest tight and aching. He slid out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake Kurt, and went out into the living room. The street lights were still bright, and flickering red and green decorations cast what should have been a festive glow outside the window. Unfortunately, Blaine was feeling anything but merry.

Blaine didn’t know how long he stood there, looking out the window and shivering, before he heard Kurt padding softly up behind him.

"Blaine? You okay?"

Blaine felt a blanket land on his shoulders, and Kurt wrapped it snugly around him. He closed his eyes as Kurt pulled him close. "You're freezing."

Blaine leaned into Kurt, breathing in his warmth, his safety. _This_ was his Kurt. This Kurt loved him, cared about him, was trying so hard to make things right. He was not the Kurt from his dream. 

"Blaine, what's wrong?" Kurt asked softly, leading Blaine over to the couch with a hand gently cupping his arm. "You're kind of scaring me."

"It's nothing." 

Not surprisingly, Kurt didn’t believe him, and gave him his patented ‘bullshit’ look. "Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

Kurt tilted his head and considered. "I think we need a signal."

"For what?"

"For when one of us is too nervous or scared to say what they are thinking."

Blaine was pretty sure he always knew when Kurt thought he was deflecting. "That look of yours works pretty well," Blaine said wryly.

"I was thinking something more like this," Kurt said, scooting closer to Blaine on the couch and taking his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "To show that no matter what you have to say, I'll still be with you, listening. And you'll be with me."

"Kurt," Blaine felt his throat tighten up and he pressed his eyes shut for a moment. When he looked back at Kurt, his fiancé was still gazing at him, serious and straight faced. "That may be one of the sweetest and simultaneously cheesiest things you have ever said to me."

Kurt smiled and ducked his head, but then he was back, bright blue eyes finding Blaine's again. "Maybe you're rubbing off on me." Kurt leaned and pressed a soft kiss to Blaine's lips, which Blaine returned gratefully. It was almost overwhelming to Blaine how good this felt - scary, but good - to believe that Kurt really wanted to hear what he was feeling. He wasn’t running away, or closing off. Of course, that meant that Blaine was actually going to have to man up and talk.

Kurt broke off the kiss with a soft smack and sat up. "Okay, then, out with it."

"Would you believe I forgot the question?" Blaine tried, a half smile tugging at his mouth. 

"No, actually, I wouldn't." Kurt squeezed his hand again and smiled back.

Blaine sighed. "It's not even that bad. I just had a nightmare, and it freaked me out a little."

"What was it about?"

"Us. Fighting. That night that Rachel came over, and we were bickering about every little thing, and then it just blew up, so out of control... I remember seeing her face, she was so surprised, and really sad." Blaine squeezed his eyes shut. "I was so ashamed. That she heard me saying those things to you, that she heard what you said to me. And that's what the dream was about, except in the dream, after the fight, you left."

As Blaine had feared, Kurt's face fell when he heard this. Kurt looked down, but didn’t move away, just sat still, frozen. "I thought about leaving, once. Moving out, ending it. Leaving my ring for you to find." Kurt's voice was shaking, and Blaine felt oddly hollow. "It was just a week or so before you suggested that Saturday trip out of the city for us. I felt like I had lost my connection to you, and I didn't know how to find it again."

"But you didn't leave," Blaine said, choking the words out. He took a deep breath and willed himself not to cry. He was afraid of what Kurt was going to say next, a flash of panic threatening to overwhelm him.

"I didn't." When Kurt met Blaine's gaze, there were tears gathering in his eyes. "I'm so glad I didn't, Blaine. I'm so glad." 

Blaine didn’t know who moved first, but suddenly they were wrapped up together, holding each other impossibly tight, both of them shaking and crying. After a while they calmed down, but continued to hold each other close, Kurt's hands tracing a soothing pattern on Blaine's bare back as he leaned into him. It felt so right to Blaine, being there with Kurt again. An echo of last night flitted through his mind, the two of them baring themselves to each other, the pure joy of being able to let go. 

"Well, this is an interesting start to our vacation," Blaine said softly, wiping a stray tear from Kurt's cheek.

"Our vacation?" Kurt asked.

Blaine tilted his head toward the clock on the side table. "It's way past midnight, so technically our first day of Christmas break has arrived."

Kurt blinked and ran a hand through Blaine's hair, twirling a curl around his finger. "Well, in that case, I think we should celebrate."

"Yeah? You do realize it's the middle of the night?” Blaine said lightly, pressing a kiss to Kurt’s lips to indicate that he didn’t really mind the time.

"Yup, I realize." Kurt shifted, laying back on the couch and pulling Blaine with him with an adorable little sigh of satisfaction. "You know the best thing about vacations?" Kurt asked, starting to place feather-light kisses on Blaine's neck.

"Um, no, what?" Blaine was now sandwiched in between Kurt and the back of the couch. He tucked a leg comfortably over Kurt's and slid a hand up under his pajama top, loving the feel of Kurt's warm skin under his fingertips.

"We can sleep in."

"Mmm. Vacation, all I ever wanted," Blaine hummed contentedly. Although he didn’t need to ever _go_ anywhere for a vacation, he thought to himself. Being here, pressed against Kurt, safe and warm at home, was the happiest place on earth.


	22. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: wedding
> 
> A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5.

They had checked and rechecked the weather before they left for Ohio, but somehow, they had managed to get caught in a snowstorm anyway. Blaine was driving, eyes wide and staring into the dark, hands holding tight to the wheel. Kurt hated driving in the snow. They both agreed Blaine was marginally better at it, maybe from all that time he spent driving the Prius, which required more patience in bad weather than Kurt's old Navigator did.

A snow plow sped by them, throwing even more slush onto the windshield, and Blaine grimaced. 

"Maybe we should stop and take a break?" Kurt asked, for the third time in the past hour.

"No, I'm okay. We've already lost so much time, it's fine." Blaine knew this was all his fault. If he hadn't screwed up the plane tickets, they would have flown to Ohio. The only stress they would have had to endure would have been finding a decent magazine at the overpriced airport store, or listening to a fellow traveler crack his gum. Instead, Blaine was risking their lives on this dreadful trip. He just hoped Kurt would still be speaking to him when it was over.

Blaine could see Kurt on his phone out of the corner of his eye. "What are you doing?" he asked. Kurt had insisted that they turn the music off when the snow started coming down hard, worried that it would distract Blaine, so he was a little surprised that Kurt was on the phone. In fact, for most of the past two hours Kurt had stared intently out the front window, just like Blaine, as if that would help Blaine see better.

"Oh, just updating my dad."

Great, Blaine thought. Just one more person who was going to murder him when this trip was through, assuming they even made it home alive.

After the windshield wipers started to make a disturbing crunching sound Kurt spoke up again. "Blaine, pull over when you can. I'll clean the wipers off."

"No, it's okay-"

"For god's sake, Blaine, please, just pull over."

Blaine's stomach clenched at the tone in Kurt's voice, but he slowed the car and stopped it on the shoulder. He wanted to tell Kurt he'd do it himself, that Kurt could stay in the car, but he didn't want Kurt to just cut him off again. In any case, Kurt jumped out as soon as the car stopped moving, armed with the flimsy plastic brush they had purchased at their last gas stop.

Blaine stretched his back, flexed his hands, and tried not to let himself worry about how much further they had to go. He knew at this speed it would have to be at least six or seven more hours, and it was already almost nine o'clock. He looked up as Kurt finished the passenger side of the windshield, and began slowly walking around the front of the car to get to the driver's side, his hand trailing along the car’s hood for balance. Blaine glanced down, noticing that Kurt's gloves were still on the floorboard. Did that mean he wasn't wearing gloves at all? Blaine looked up to check, but Kurt was gone.

All thoughts of gloves fled from his mind as Blaine threw open the car door and stumbled out, his legs wobbly from hours of sitting. "Kurt?" The cars rushed by right next to him, throwing snow and ice with every pass. 

"I'm okay," Kurt replied from somewhere near the front of the car. "I just got the breath knocked out of me when I fell on the -"

But before he could finish his sentence Blaine fell too, landing hard on his side next to Kurt. “Ow.”

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked, leaning over him. "That looked like it hurt."

Kurt was sitting on the edge of a highway somewhere in Pennsylvania, covered in snow and slush, his hat looking more like a gathering of dainty icicles than a garment. Even his eyelashes were snowy. And yet, miraculously, he didn't seem mad.

Blaine giggled with relief and pulled Kurt into an awkward hug, their coats and hats getting in the way. "I was so scared for a minute there," he said, ignoring the freezing wet snow soaking into his jeans. "You disappeared."

"No, sadly, we're both still here," Kurt said, "despite my best efforts." Kurt shifted on to his knees, then grabbed on to the hood of the car and stood up, pointlessly trying to brush the snow off his pants. He held out an ungloved hand to Blaine, who took it gratefully and stood up with a wince.

"What do you mean, your best efforts?"

"Let's get back in the car before we freeze to death, and I'll tell you."

\---

"So, let me get this straight," Blaine said, as they settled back into the car, shedding snow everywhere. "You've been emailing hotels for the past hour, every time we got near an exit where one was nearby."

"Exactly."

"Why didn't you tell me?" They both shuddered as another plow went by, spraying more slush on to the car.

"You seemed so upset whenever I said we should take a break," Kurt said carefully.

"Because you were upset that this was taking so long. I didn't want it to take longer." Blaine sighed and took Kurt's cold hand, still wet from the snow. "We're idiots."

"We are," Kurt agreed. "But now we're going to do something smart."

"What's that?"

"Drive for two miles, get off at the next exit, and take a right."

Half an hour later, Kurt opened the door to their hotel room, grabbed Blaine by his scarf, and pulled him inside with a smirk. “Remind you of anything?” Kurt asked, keeping a firm hold on the scarf as he tugged Blaine in for a lingering kiss.

“It’s like Mr. Schue’s failed wedding, if we had gone outside and rolled around in the snow for a while before we went upstairs.” Blaine let his carry-on slide to the floor and wrapped his arms around Kurt, who was now unwinding the scarf from his neck and planting kisses along his jaw. “Why, Mr. Hummel, do you have a thing for hotel rooms?”

Kurt laughed. “Perhaps. Or maybe I just have a thing for you.” Kurt grinned wider as Blaine helped him take his coat off, and then he crouched to unbutton Blaine’s, looking up at him with a saucy expression. “We may not have planned on being here tonight, but we might as well make the most of it, no?”

Blaine’s body thrummed in response, although part of him just wanted to crawl into bed and close his eyes. Either way, though, there was something he needed to clear up first. Blaine took Kurt’s hand and pulled him up. “I’m all for it, believe me. But first… can we talk for a minute?”

“Sure.” Kurt looked a little confused, but sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him.

Blaine sat down, biting his lip. Might as well come right out and say it. “Why aren’t you more upset about all this?”

Something flashed across Kurt’s face, a flicker of hurt, but then it was gone. He ran a hand through Blaine’s messy hair, and trailed it down over the shawl collar of his sweater, folding it into place, buying time. “I know we did this to ourselves… we’re not there yet, but I really hope at some point you’re going to stop assuming that I’ll get mad at you for things that aren’t your fault.” Kurt met his eyes. “None of this is your fault, Blaine. We both decided to leave today, instead of tomorrow. We both checked the weather.” Kurt shrugged. “It’s winter. Sometimes it snows. We’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, but, the plane tickets…”

“It wouldn’t have been any better to fly. We were going to leave tonight, remember? The flight probably would have been cancelled, or at any rate, delayed interminably.” 

Blaine had to acknowledge the truth of this. He searched Kurt’s face, and found no hint of annoyance… except maybe at Blaine’s lingering insecurity. He was going to have to trust Kurt if this was going to work, he knew that, it was just hard. He took a deep breath, and smiled. “Okay. You’re right.”

Kurt smiled back. “In any case, I’d much rather be here, in this perfectly adequate hotel room, with no surprise visitors, and sheets we don’t have to clean ourselves, than stuck sleeping on the floor in the airport. Wouldn’t you?”

Blaine nodded, his smile spreading across his face. “I most definitely would.” He took Kurt’s hands in his, and rubbed them between his own. “You’re still cold.”

“Then how about showers to warm up?”

A few minutes later, Blaine had placed a room service order, and was laying out his damp clothes over the desk and chair. He was just about to check to see if he had another pair of boxers in the bag he had brought in from the car, when Kurt stuck his head out of the bathroom. "The water's nice and hot. As are you, my very naked holiday roommate. Join me?"


	23. Year

It was hard for Blaine to believe he was back in Lima, sitting in Tina’s basement, surrounded by New Directions current and past members. Although Tina had advertised it as a “Last Night of Hanukkah” party, the evening was really just an excuse to get everyone together before family obligations took over. The fact that Tina was serving freshly made latkes with sour cream and applesauce was just a bonus.

Blaine hadn’t been sure Kurt was going to come, once he realized that Rachel wouldn’t be there, and Santana and Brittany were still in New York; the party was heavily skewed towards the New Directions from Blaine’s senior year. But Kurt hadn’t batted an eyelash at the invite, seeming to assume that they would be attending together, and Blaine had to admit, he was thrilled.

He didn’t miss the sideways glances their friends gave them, however, when they arrived arm in arm. Most of them had gotten word of their last round of trouble in paradise, and some had seen it first hand. Artie had witnessed a particularly spectacular blow-out at their last Monday night weekly dinner, a ritual that had begun to fade when most of their friends left the city the previous spring. Blaine and Kurt had tried to continue it, inviting various friends from school and encouraging Artie to do the same, but Artie had finally called it quits after trying to mediate an argument about who was responsible for taking out the garbage, or making sure they had cream for their guests’ coffee, or whatever matter of extreme importance they were arguing about that night.

Sam was well aware of what was going on as well, including the fact that things were getting better between him and Kurt now, which Blaine had tried to make very clear to him in order to avoid any awkwardness. Sam tended to get protective of Blaine, and Blaine lived in fear of Kurt somehow finding the texts between him and Sam from when they were at their worst. He didn’t think Kurt would appreciate the various superhero solutions to their problems that Sam had proposed. Blaine had deleted the messages, of course, but everyone said that stuff could never actually be erased.

Sam had greeted both of them enthusiastically, pulling first Blaine and then Kurt into comfortable hugs, complete with bro-friendly back slaps. Sam looked at Blaine over Kurt’s shoulder as he hugged him, either winking or trying to give Blaine some kind of secret signal, which Blaine decided to interpret as a sign of support.

Now Blaine was stuck on the couch with Tina on his left, trying to give her his full attention, while Kurt stood across the room, helping Artie set up the karaoke machine. Tina kept touching him on his arm, poking him and squeezing him, until he finally had to ask her to stop – the stitches had come out a few days ago, but he was still sore. Blaine realized that in all of his cuddling and sexytimes with Kurt since the accident, Kurt had never once forgotten that his arm was injured, always making sure to be careful not to jar it. He glanced up, and saw that Kurt was looking at him, too, and he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.

Marley called Tina over to help her set up the mic, and soon she was seated on a stool, strumming her guitar. Tina had told him that she was going to play a Sara Bareilles song, in keeping with her singer-songwriter vibe. When Marley played the opening chords, however, Blaine got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He felt his face go hot, and tried to focus on how far Marley’s guitar playing had progressed, not all of his friends that were surely staring at him and Kurt.

_We met on a rainy evening in the summertime_  
 _Don’t think I need to tell you more_  
 _I needed a raise I worked so hard for this love of mine, love of mine_  
 _Still I got nothing to show for it_

_Here’s a simplification of everything we’re going through_  
 _You plus me is bad news_  
 _But you’re a lovely creation and I like to think that I am too_  
 _But my friend said I look better without you._

Is this what everyone thought – that Kurt was better off without him? Were they bad news? In some part of his mind Blaine wished desperately that Jake was at the party – then at least people might be staring at him instead. Blaine closed his eyes and wished that he could just disappear.

_Babe, baby believe me_  
 _If I stay it ain’t gonna be easy_  
 _Okay, we’ll do it your way_  
 _But this is the last time_  
 _You’ll hear the beautiful sound of love coming down_  
 _Love on the rocks._

Then the couch dipped and Kurt was next to him, gently taking his hand in his, and laying his head on his shoulder. “We’ve had a rough year,” Kurt whispered in his ear, “and it may not exactly be smooth sailing yet, but this song isn’t us. We’re going to be okay.” 

Blaine forced himself to relax, and turned to face Kurt, while Marley continued singing about her hopeless romance. Kurt had a small smile on his face, and Blaine could see in his eyes how much he wanted Blaine to believe his words – they were going to make it. He wanted so much to believe him, he knew he just had to take the leap. Blaine leaned in, and Kurt did too, and then they were kissing there in Tina’s basement as if they were the only people in the room, their arms coming up to hold each other tight, pressed as close together as they could get. 

He didn’t know how long it went on, but when Kitty finally cleared her throat loudly enough to wake the dead, Marley had finished singing and the rest of the New Directions were pretending not to stare. “Sorry, B, but you’re next on the karaoke list,” Kitty said softly. “I can take your turn if you want, but if you don’t want the two of you to show up on you tube tonight, you might want to take it outside.” 

Blaine could feel himself blushing as Kurt huffed out a laugh and buried his face in Blaine’s neck, still holding on to him. He sat up a little and smiled, suddenly filled with a confidence he hadn’t felt in ages. “Thanks, but I think I do want to sing.” Blaine stood and wiped his hands on his pants, then bounced over to the mic. 

“Hi, everyone,” Blaine began. “I suppose you’re all wondering what’s up with me and Kurt.” This was met with nervous laughter, as Blaine had expected, along with a “can you blame us?” from Tina and a responding “shut it,” from Kitty. “There’s no denying we’ve had a tough year, and an especially difficult past few months. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we’re sorry that some of you got caught in the crossfire. But I think that you can also all agree that Kurt and I are nothing if not determined, and we are both determined to figure ourselves out and make things work.” Blaine glanced up at Kurt, who was now positively beaming at him from across the room. 

“I once told a bunch of you that Kurt and I _were_ going to have a happy ending. And so I’m pleased to tell you, in answer to the question you are all too polite to come out and ask, Kurt and I are together, very, very much so.” Amid the resulting cheers and wolf whistles, Blaine continued. “It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I’d like to sing about it, if that’s okay with you.” 

Blaine whispered in Tina’s ear, and she set the karaoke machine. “I could use some back-up singers, if anyone wants to join in,” he suggested, sending pointed looks to Kitty and Marley, who promptly acquiesced. Blaine took a deep breath as the music began, finding Kurt’s eyes. “I sang this song with Kurt a few weeks ago, and it’s as true now as it was then. I think it always will be.” 

_I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need…_

The girls danced around next to Blaine for the first stanza but soon were grabbing Kurt off the couch and bringing him over to join Blaine. He made a show of protesting for about three seconds but then jumped right in, trading lines back and forth with Blaine and grinning like there was no tomorrow. Blaine could almost hear Tina sighing about “that age-old chemistry” and frankly, he wasn’t sure he had ever been so happy.

By the time they got to the last “all I want for Christmas is you,” everyone was singing and dancing, and Blaine felt like he was about to bubble over with joy. Kurt pulled him in to a searing kiss, and he knew it, knew it in his bones. He and Kurt really were together, and everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featured songs: Love on the Rocks, by Sara Bareilles, and All I Want for Christmas is You, by Mariah Carey.


	24. Zigzag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaineadvent prompt: zigzag.
> 
>  
> 
> _A continuing story of how the boys work to fix something that has broken. AU after Season 5._

Kurt was up in his old bedroom when his phone buzzed with a text. 

**From Blaine: Where are you?**

Kurt smiled. He sat down on his bed and quickly typed out a reply.

**From Kurt: Why are you texting me? We’re in the same house.**

**From Blaine: Because it’s lovely down here, and I miss you .**

Kurt’s smile grew wider. He was so relieved to see this Blaine back again, the one who wasn’t afraid to express his feelings, who delighted in showing his love for Kurt. A month ago Blaine would have just stewed in silence, worried that telling Kurt he missed him – even in this lighthearted, flirty way – would be perceived as clingy, or in some other entirely inaccurate, negative manner. But things were changing, and not only did Kurt think he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, he felt like it was brighter than ever.

**From Kurt: Patience, my dear. Amuse yourself for a few minutes and I’ll be right down.**

**From Blaine: Kurt! We’re in your parents’ house!! And it’s Christmas Eve!!!!**

Kurt chuckled. 

**From Kurt: You know that’s not what I meant. And for that, you’re cut off – no more exclamation points tonight. Put another log on the fire and pick out some music. I promise I won’t be long.**

Kurt stood and checked himself in the mirror, smoothing a stray hair into place. He looked around the room at the knickknacks on his shelves, some of them still adorned with colored post-it notes on the back. It made him think of that first big fight he and Blaine had, back during his senior year of high school. Blaine was feeling insecure, and was worried about Kurt leaving him, so he distanced himself. Kurt got defensive and flirted with Chandler. It sounded awfully familiar. Were the two of them ever going to learn, he wondered?

Kurt shook his head. Enough with the glass half empty whining. They weren’t the same kids they were four years ago. They had learned, and talked, and fought, and learned some more. They knew not only how awful it felt when things went wrong, but how wonderful it was when things were right. They could do this.

And right now, Kurt had to go downstairs. He had made his decision, and his beautiful fiancé was waiting for him. 

\---

Blaine’s face lit up as he saw Kurt come into the room. Blaine was dressed in one of Kurt’s favorite outfits, a dark red velvet dinner jacket paired with a gold and black bowtie. His perfectly dapper holiday gentleman. Kurt came right up to him and slid his hands under Blaine’s jacket, gripping his narrow waist, and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. 

Blaine responded eagerly, then pulled back and gazed at Kurt, the twinkling holiday lights from the Christmas tree making his eyes sparkle. “Don’t you look like the cat who got the cream,” Blaine said teasingly.

Kurt shrugged, and tangled his fingers with Blaine’s. “It’s Christmas Eve, my parents are asleep, and I have you to myself. Why shouldn’t I be happy?”

Soft music was playing in the background, and Kurt began to slowly spin Blaine around the room, dodging the various piles of presents on the floor. Carole had, of course, loved the Disney scarf Blaine had found for her, and Burt was thrilled with the idea of going to a game all together next week. But the gift Kurt was most proud of that evening was when Burt pulled him aside, looking back over his shoulder at Blaine merrily singing along to the radio with Carole while they straightened up their spoils. “You’re doing good, kid,” Burt had said, his meaning clear. “Keep it up, both of you. It’s worth it.”

Now Blaine was melting against him, a warm and solid presence against his body, as a slow song came on. _Christmas Eve will find me, where the love light gleams. I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams._

“I’m so glad it’s not a dream,” Blaine said softly, his hands pressing against Kurt’s back. “Thank you for doing this with me, again.”

Kurt put a hand to Blaine’s cheek, turning until he could catch his eyes. “There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

Blaine smiled, and ducked his head, then looked up again, his face taking on a more serious expression. “I was thinking, last night at Tina’s party, when everyone wanted to know whether we were broken up or not, that wasn’t really the right question. I mean, things had gotten so bad, even though we didn’t break up, it was almost as horrible. But everyone just wanted to hear yes or no.”

“It’s not that simple,” Kurt said. He thought he understood where Blaine was going with this.

“Exactly. And being together isn’t that simple, either. We can’t just say ‘poof, we’re fine’ and then go on about our lives as if that’s all we needed to do. I think maybe that’s part of where we went wrong. We thought we were there, and we stopped trying to get there. But it’s a process. We’ll have our ups and downs, backs and forths. Our zigzags,” Blaine grinned at him, and Kurt warmed inside; the inside joke never failed to make them both smile. “But we can’t ever stop trying.” Blaine took Kurt’s hands and squeezed them. “We have to keep working on being the best fiancés we can be, every day. And I think if we do, we’ll never stop surprising each other with how good our lives can be.”

Kurt nodded, amazed at how, despite everything, he and Blaine still had so many moments like these, where it seemed like Blaine could see right into his head. He took a deep breath and centered himself, because clearly, this was his cue.

“I agree. I couldn’t agree more.” Kurt lifted Blaine’s hands where they were twined with his and brushed his lips across his fingertips, then let go. He held Blaine’s gaze, and slowly went down on one knee, watching Blaine’s eyes grow impossibly wide. "I know, given everything, you might think it's too soon. But at the same time, it's far too late. I should have done this a long time ago." Kurt pulled a small box out of his pocket and held it out, willing his hands not to shake. 

"I promise to love you every day of my life, and to keep working to show you how much I love you. I want you to wear this ring, to remind you, every minute of every day, of that promise. I know you already asked me, but I think it’s only fair that you know how much I want you, too, because I do. Completely, and desperately, and always. Blaine Devon Anderson, will you marry me?"

The look of surprise and shock on Blaine’s face changed into one of pure joy. “Yes, of course, of course I will.” Blaine fell to his knees in front of Kurt and crashed into him, wrapping him in a tight hug that sent them both to the floor, laughing and crying in their efforts to keep kissing each other and avoid knocking the tree over. When they caught their breath, Kurt pushed himself up on an elbow, looking down in wonder at this beautiful boy laid out beside him, his face open and trusting, his eyes gleaming. Kurt took Blaine’s hand and slid the ring onto his finger, and Blaine beamed. 

“You’re the love of my life, Blaine Anderson, and don’t you ever forget it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is! I hope you all enjoyed this journey as much as I did. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and a happy and healthy 2015. Stop by and say hi (flowerfan2) on tumblr, and keep your eyes out for my next fic, Shelter, to be posted just after Christmas.


End file.
